On Wednesday 27 November in Strasbourg, the chairman of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights, Mounir Satouri (Greens/EFA, French), organised a “cross-party parliamentary mobilisation” for the protection of the Palestinian people.
According to Mr Satouri, the empty answers given by the candidate European Commissioners on the Palestinian question during their hearings, as well as the mobilisation of civil society, motivated his initiative.
MEPs Hana Jalloul (S&D, Spanish) and Barry Andrews (Renew Europe, Irish), as well as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, and the President of the Association France Palestine Solidarité, Anne Tuaillon, joined the press conference to call on the European Commission to make a firm commitment.
The speakers stressed the need for an arms embargo, for reaffirmed EU support for UNRWA, and for respect for international law without exception, particularly in view of the arrest warrants recently issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the Israeli Prime Minister and his former Defence Minister.
“It’s time we took stock of the image we’re projecting by adopting double standards”, said Mr Satouri, referring to the arrest warrant issued for Vladimir Putin in March 2023. And he added: “We want the EU to reaffirm its support for the ICC (...), and for countries that respect international law to cooperate with the ICC”.
Ms Jalloul stressed the importance of bringing the voice of “progressive forces” to the European Parliament, shortly after the confirmation of the new college of European Commissioners (see other news). (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)