Brussels, 17/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 17 December, the European Parliament, “in principle”, gave its backing for the recognition of a Palestinian state and the two-state solution. It believes that this solution should be combined with the process for peace talks, which it thinks should also resume.
By adopting a joint resolution (488 votes for, 88 against, with 111 abstentions), MEPs did not recognise the Palestinian state as initially proposed by the Greens/EFA and S&D groups, which, for the EPP and ALDE, appeared too premature.
Parliament reiterates “its strong support” for the two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states. MEPs urge “all Palestinian factions, including Hamas” to accept the commitments made by the PLO “to end internal divisions” and underline the importance of consolidating the authority of the government of Palestinian national unity. They also emphasise that the Israeli settlements are illegal.
MEPs also “condemn in the strongest terms all acts of terrorism or violence”. MEPs call on Federica Mogherini to help obtain a common Union position and believe that the EU should assume its responsibilities and become a genuine actor and mediator in the Middle East peace process. The EP has decided to launch a “Parliamentarians for Peace” initiative that seeks to bring MEPs and their Israeli and Palestinian counterparts from all the different parties together and help advance an agenda for peace and to complement EU diplomatic efforts. Marie Arena (S&D) said that the EP “officially and unconditionally recognises the Palestinian state” but Elmar Brok (EPP) said that this vote clearly demonstrated that the EP had rejected “unconditional recognition of Palestine that was separate from the peace negotiations”. (CG)