Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-01-14-Speech-3-285"
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"en.20090114.16.3-285"2
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"Mr President, a friend who knows I was in Gaza just three days ago challenges me. ‘Have you never seen pictures of five-year-old Jewish children facing Nazi rifles with their arms above their heads?’ she writes. ‘They break your heart.’ And her words highlight why we make allowances for Israel that we would not make for any other country.
They do not, however, explain why a people that suffered so much in the 20th century should now inflict so much suffering on another people in this one. Israel has turned Gaza into hell: the ground is shaking with explosions, even during a ceasefire; there are donkey carts on the street and F-16s in the sky, 21st-century killing machines just dropping bombs; 300 children are dead already, hundreds more torn apart limb by limb.
This is not a proportionate response of a civilised power. It is evil. It is evil. Yes, the Hamas rockets must stop. I have said so to Hamas representatives in Gaza myself before now, but let us have no more sanctimonious talk from Israeli officials about the need to fight terrorism, because Palestinians being bombed could name terrorists and they would name Olmert, Livni and Barak.
We have some responsibility for Israel’s actions. On no occasion in the past, on no occasion I can think of, has the European Union ever backed up its criticism of the treatment of Palestinians by the Israelis with any kind of action. We give a green light to Israel to proceed as it would wish and we have compounded that failure by ignoring the lessons of history. You cannot make peace without talking to your enemies, yet we refuse to talk to the elected representatives of the Palestinian people.
Now we are completing negotiations with Israel on an enhanced cooperation agreement. We do not plan to condemn Israel: we intend to reward it. Those who want peace in the Middle East, those who want to see justice for both sides, must recognise that it is time to think again."@en1
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