Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-04-05-Speech-3-155"
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"en.20060405.17.3-155"2
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".
Mr President, Mrs Ferrero-Waldner, Mr Solana, those with a sound knowledge of Israeli society assure us, in the wake of the elections, that the majority of the country’s population are now resolved to accept, willingly or not, the idea that the occupation of the Palestinian territories is, in every respect, a deadlock that needs to be broken.
Unfortunately, the new Prime Minister is pursuing his predecessor’s strategy, namely unilateral separation on the basis of
precluding the construction of a viable Palestinian State, on the one hand, and, for the time being, the oppression of the Palestinian people in an attempt to make them capitulate, on the other. This policy is irresponsible.
Yesterday, the major Israeli daily
quoted the United Nations in its headline ‘Gaza is on the brink of disaster’. In Nablus, in the West Bank, young people under the age of 30 are no longer allowed to leave their town! Kalandia, in the heart of the Palestinian Territory, has just been turned into a border terminal! East Jerusalem is surrounded! What is the meaning, then, of the proposal to negotiate with the Head of the Palestinian Authority whom, I might add, people are making every effort to discredit, as was the case during the recent
in Jericho?
In this context, it is almost moving to see new peace initiatives emerge from Palestinian and Israeli society, such as that of the combatants for peace, which is due to be officially launched on Monday. This initiative involves former officers of the Israeli army, who have joined forces with former combatants from Palestine and drawn from their respective experiences the common belief that the solution to the region’s problems can only be political and based on the relevant United Nations resolutions from 1967 onwards.
We all pay tribute to the clear-sightedness and the courage of these women and men. What do they expect of the European Union, though? Aid alone is not enough: every nation needs freedom just as much as it needs bread. The fact remains that, by causing the collapse of the last remnants of Palestine’s social, administrative and security structures, the withdrawal of aid, even on a partial and temporary basis, would rule out any hope of just peace for a long time yet.
More generally, what political role should Europe now play? Mr Solana just mentioned the Venice European Council in 1980, which is a good point of reference. A quarter of a century has, in fact, gone by since another key moment in the history of the Middle East, when we were able to assume our responsibilities. We had, at that time, officially recognised the PLO and adopted the ‘two peoples, two states’ principle. In my view, the current situation calls for a further strong act on the part of Europe. That act must be aimed at providing new and clear reference points leading to an outlook based on law and at restoring hope among the peace-keeping forces throughout the region. It was in this spirit that I proposed the idea of making our own institution act as a catalyst: it could decide to hold its Conference of Presidents in East Jerusalem with the aim of sending a real message of peace to all of the key figures there."@en1
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"coup de force"1
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