BRUSSELS, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- The European Union is discussing ways to finance the unofficial "Geneva Accord" plan to bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Chris Patten, EU commissioner for external relations Monday praised the "courage and farsightedness" of Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo, the Israeli and Palestinian politicians who negotiated the plan in Switzerland.
Opinion polls suggest that the alternative peace plan, similar to the deal that foundered at Camp David three years ago, is backed by close to half of all Israelis and Palestinians.
EU spokesperson Diego Ojeda added that the EU was looking at funding a peace concert and a conference of Egyptian and Israeli academics, with cash from its budget to promote civil society.
Patten called on Arab governments to back the plan, despite objections from Palestinian refugees who claim it gives away their "right of return" to their ancestral lands in Israel.
