Brussels, 05/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - Given the continuing violence in Jerusalem and in the Occupied Territories, the French Council Presidency issued the following declaration on behalf of the EU:
"On the fourth day of bloody clashes between Israelis and Palestinians, the European Union again appeals to those involved to see reason so that the violence stops. It considers that the disproportionate recourse to force can only further aggravate the situation, increase the already particularly heavy toll of deaths and injuries and cause the prospect of peace to recede at a moment when it seemed that it would before long become a reality.
It is supporting the forming of an international commission to establish objectively what has actually happened over the past few days and is ready to make its contribution to the work of such a commission. It remains convinced that a negotiated solution is the only way of satisfying the Israeli and Palestinian peoples' aspirations to peace and security".
The EU had already denounced the provocation and the violence between Israelis and Palestinians, in a declaration issued early this week (see EUROPE of 2/3 October, p.5).