Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-02-05-Speech-2-134"
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"en.20020205.8.2-134"2
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"Mr President, like previous speakers I, too, am gravely concerned that since last December the situation in the Middle East has deteriorated to a new low. There has been an appalling loss of life, the conflict in the region between the Israeli and the Palestinian people has deepened and the hopes of restarting the peace process regrettably have receded. Between 15 January and 25 January last, over 45 people were injured from bomb attacks alone, while ten people were killed during the same period. This is a staggering level of violence and hatred by any standards. Hundreds of Palestinians have been left homeless as a result of the demolition of nearly 100 houses by the Israeli forces at the refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. I very much welcome the fact that the Spanish Presidency has written to the Israeli Foreign Minister expressing our deepest concern at the damage that has been done to projects funded by the European Union as a direct result of Israeli attacks against the Palestinian institutions.
Mr President, violence has brought neither greater freedom to the Palestinian people, nor greater security for the Israeli people. In both cases the result of violence over the last few months has achieved the opposite to what was originally intended. Violence has only resulted in an intensification of hatred and recriminations between the Israeli and the Palestinian peoples. The Israelis and Palestinians must resume the search for peace and the two sides must act together and they must act in tandem. The Mitchell principles have clearly laid down the broad parameters for an overall peace agreement. Any future agreement must both recognise Israel's right to live in peace and security and ensure that the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people are protected and promoted. This means the establishment of a viable and democratic Palestinian state and an end to the occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Israeli and Palestinian authorities are going to have to move to renew some level of security cooperation with the aim of ending this awful present cycle of violence. Persons involved in perpetrating any of these awful terrorist attacks which have taken place must be arrested and must be brought to justice, including terrorists operating in the Hamas and Islamic Jihad organisations.
Recent discussions between representatives of the Palestinian authority and Prime Minister Sharon must be seen as a somewhat positive move, but negotiations must surely be meaningful and cannot be seen as a cosmetic exercise under any circumstances. We must all remember that Yasser Arafat is the democratically elected leader of the Palestinian people and he has the political authority and the political mandate to represent the concerns and the needs of the Palestinian people at this time. Yasser Arafat is a viable peace partner for Israel and he commands the support not only of his people, but of the broader international community. I welcome the recent article written by him in the
in which he stated that the Palestinians were ready to end the conflict with Israel. This call for reconciliation and coexistence must be welcomed by all interested parties.
I strongly believe that the EU must continue to play as active a role as possible in brokering a peace between both sides. President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon are meeting this week and I hope that this will signal a more willing involvement on the part of the United States to re-intensify its efforts to reach a political agreement in the region. I strongly believe that the European Union and the American government have mutually important roles to play in ending the violence in the region and restarting meaningful peace talks.
Finally, the Israelis and the Palestinians must also calm the situation and de-escalate the conflict. Sustained attacks by Israel on the Palestinian Authority and its security forces and facilities are wholly misguided. Incursions by the Israeli military forces into Palestinian territories must be halted immediately and there must also be a lifting of restrictions that are imposed on the Palestinian people. Let us all remember, as was said by previous speakers, that the alternative to the Palestinian Authority is Palestinian anarchy."@en1
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