Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-01-14-Speech-3-311"
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"en.20090114.16.3-311"2
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"Mr President, I wish to begin by expressing my deepest sympathy for all the innocent people, both in Israel and in Gaza, who have suffered in recent weeks and months as conflict rages. But we need to take care that our natural humanity, our very justified concerns, do not distort our view of the true nature of the situation that we are dealing with.
In Gaza, Hamas has created a terrorist fiefdom: it tolerates no opposition to its views, it has murdered those Palestinians who opposed it, it has split the Palestine Authority, it refused to stop terror attacks on Israeli civilians, it refused to recognise the right of Israel to exist, it refused to acknowledge the peace agreements previously negotiated. I recall the words of Hanan Ashrawi three years ago, when I was monitoring the Palestinian elections. She foresaw the imposition of rule by the forces of darkness – how right she was!
We should not be surprised that a Hamas MP should take pride in stating that death was an ‘industry’ for the Palestinian people. He was referring to the use of suicide bombers and the deliberate use of civilian human shields to protect potential military targets. It is, of course, a direct contravention of international humanitarian law to use civilians in this way.
Faced with such an intractable, callous and hateful enemy, what do we expect Israel to do while its citizens are constantly subjected to terror attacks? The international community took little notice. When Israel took non-violent action, such as imposing blockades or cutting electricity, it was castigated. Now that it has taken military action in reaction to Hamas provocation, it feels the weight of international disapproval.
The sad reality is that the Palestinian people have been atrociously served over many years by those who have control over Palestine Authority areas, by the international community, which has tolerated extremism and corruption, and by the Arab world, which has done nothing practical over many decades to improve their lives or prospects.
We need a Marshall Plan for the Middle East. It is not just peacekeepers that the Palestinians need but a decent civil administration, free from corruption. The civil administration needs to be put under international control but first of all the terrorist lifeline – weapons, monies and political indulgence – must be cut."@en1
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