Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-11-21-Speech-3-405-000"
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"en.20121121.26.3-405-000"2
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"Mr President, I welcome your announcement, President-in-Office of the Council, of a ceasefire, which must be consolidated. Too many civilians have died, too many children have died and too much blood has been shed in that region, so it is a real relief to hear that. However, as well as consolidating the ceasefire, we also have to support President Abbas’s legitimate request to the United Nations General Assembly.
Indeed, Operation Pillar of Defence resembled 2008’s nightmare operation, Operation Cast Lead: they were both close to Israeli elections and there was the same escalation of violence, which on the Israeli side meant extrajudicial killings and attacks, and on the Gaza side, missiles and rockets being fired at Israel and perhaps even an attack in Tel Aviv today.
This time, however, something was different. Two things were different, in fact: on the one hand, the Arab Spring changed the goalposts and Gaza is no longer isolated, and on the other hand, there is also Operation Pillar of Defence, which to some extent was part of pressure on Mahmoud Abbas to refrain from putting his request to the UN.
Egypt acted as mediator with Gaza. I think that it is really up to us in Europe to face up to our responsibilities and support President Abbas. Our concern for Israel’s security, which is a genuine concern, is on a par with our responsibility to offer the Palestinians secure state, too, with the same borders as it had in 1967. These obligations are moral and historical and are based on international law.
I would point out that South Sudan became a member of the UN three days after gaining independence, even though its borders were not defined and it was still at war with Sudan. It is not right that, since 1988, when it gained its independence, Palestine has been floundering in the corridors of the UN.
Today, we are providing some food for thought for all extremists, all those who ridicule Europe for its weakness, all those who only believe in a solution by force. It is up to us, not the United States. It is our European history; we cannot ask the Palestinians to pay the price for it.
I am pleased that the new Egypt, with which we have just negotiated ambitious agreements, is now helping us to resolve this crisis. I would like to send my condolences to the families of all of the victims, on both sides, but I believe that they should not have had to pay for our history and our responsibilities with their lives."@en1
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