Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-12-19-Speech-4-143"
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"en.20021219.8.4-143"2
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"Ladies and gentlemen, the Middle East has a unique heritage, rich in symbols and history. But that heritage, which for too long has undergone the colonial conflict ravaging Palestine, is in danger of disappearing. Many age-old historical centres have been devastated, destroyed by the Israeli occupying forces. In Hebron, the army is preparing to destroy around one hundred houses bordering the prayer route. It is a real corridor, riddled with watchtowers and only accessible to the settlers, which will be developed to link the settlement to the tomb of the patriarchs, the symbol of the three religions, which Israel wishes to appropriate.
Hebron is a blatant example of apartheid. The town is separated in two by a large road used only by Israelis, and some streets are entirely forbidden to Palestinians. This is a symbol of a downward spiral that can only lead to an escalation of violence. During the conflict, Palestinian heritage has become a major political issue. The foundations of cultural sites are giving way under the attacks from Israeli tanks and helicopters, which are also battering public and professional buildings, schools, houses and refugee camps, causing thousands of civilian casualties. Is that not true terrorism, military terrorism, state terrorism? Israel is thus clearly showing that a Palestinian identity has no place in its plans to extend the settlements. This idea of eradicating the history and memory of the Palestinian people is a result of the Israeli State’s quest for legitimacy.
I would also like to commend the courage of civilian and international missions, which with no power to intervene but the right to report and observe, are playing a moderating and protective role. Through their action on the ground, they are carrying out citizen’s diplomacy where our international diplomacy is unable to intervene. We must urgently condemn what are genuine crimes against humanity’s shared cultural heritage, demand that the Hague conventions and Geneva conventions on the protection of goods and persons be respected and ask the Commission to call on the UN Security Council to send an intervention force to protect the Palestinian people, their cultural and historical heritage and their environment.
Let us remember that fair and sustainable peace for these two populations can only be based on respect for international law, the withdrawal of settlements and occupation forces and the creation of a Palestinian State within the 1967 borders."@en1
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