Violence will not bring liberation to Palestinians or security to Israelis, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, has said, in a statement that is implicitly critical of US policy in the Middle East.
He was speaking as he prepared to fly to Cairo today to meet the secretary general of the Arab League, Mr Amr Moussa.
The visit followed the postponement of the Arab League summit, which had been set to take place in Tunis today and tomorrow.
Mr Cowen had been due to attend the summit along with the Taoiseach. He hopes to meet Egyptian president, Mr Hosni Mubarak and the foreign minister, Mr Ahmed Maher during his visit.
"I felt it was appropriate for me to travel to the region today both as an expression of European solidarity with our Arab friends and neighbours and to give me the opportunity to say some of the things that we would have been saying in Tunis," Mr Cowen said.
"It is important at this moment that the Arab world is seen to take charge of its own destiny. Europe is a friend and neighbour."
Mr Cowen said the Arab response to two key issues - Arab-Israeli conflict and Arab development, were "of profound interest to Europe and the wider world".
"It is crucial in regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict that Arabs do not allow Israeli actions to determine their approach. Violence will not solve the Palestinian issue. It has failed for both sides. It will not bring liberation to Palestinians, or security to Israelis."
Mr Cowen said that during his visit he would call on the Arab leaders to take three steps: Firstly, he would call on them to issue an appeal for an end to violence, particularly suicide bombings.
Mr Cowen said such bombings, whatever the provocation, "will not bring liberation to the Palestinians and give Israel an excuse to avoid negotiation".
Secondly, he would ask the leaders to give every support to the reestablishment of a "viable Palestinian interlocutor", through political and financial support and by cutting off aid to militants.
Thirdly, he would ask them to re-launch the so-called Beirut initiative, thereby making it clear to the Israeli public and the Americans that "there is an alternative to unilateral action".
Israeli forces last week assassinated the founder of the militant group Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in a move widely believed to have been endorsed by the Israeli prime minister, Mr Ariel Sharon. The US said it was "disturbed" by the killing, but did not explicitly criticise the Israeli authorities.
"The European Council for its part not only endorsed last week a set of five conditions for Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, but also issued a statement that the Union will not recognise any departure from the pre-1967 borders other than that arrived at by agreement between the parties," Mr Cowen said.
On development, Mr Cowen said the Arab world "has to assert control" over its own development agenda. He said a recent report made clear that while neither reform nor progress on the peace process can be a pre-condition for the other, there can be no long term stability without the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Mr Cowen said talks would continue for the next few months with the EU's partners in the Arab region before bringing a final report to the June European Council. He said he looked forward to welcoming Arab foreign ministers to the Euro-Mediterranean ministerial meeting in Dublin on May 5 thand 6 th.
Arab leaders have today been trying to reschedule the summit after it was postponed unilaterally at the weekend by Tunisia, the host country, amid divisions over US calls for political and economic reforms in the Middle East.