Brussels, 03/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - In a letter sent to the president of the European Parliament, Pat Cox, on the eve of the meeting of the Conference of Presidents on Thursday, the French president of the GUE/NGL Group, Francis Wurtz, notes that the information sent from Ramallah by Luisa Morgantini (PRC), President of the EP Delegation for relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council, "bear witness to truly vile and totally irresponsible behaviour on the part of the Israeli army". Mr Wurtz went on to cite: shooting without warning; mass roundups; hostage taking; collective humiliation; the destruction of houses, cars, and personal belongings in homes; attacks on the wounded; the cutting off of water, electricity, food, and medicine supplies; and offensive and outrageous insults, etc. "In order to launch this offensive, which was obviously premeditated, the Sharon government was just waiting for a pretext. The terrible terrorist attack in Netanya unfortunately gave it that pretext. At the very moment when the important peace initiative of the Arab countries placed the Israeli government with its back to the wall. As Yasser Arafat and many of the most respected Palestinian leaders continue to stress, these attacks against innocent people in Israel are not only morally unacceptable but they also do great damage to the Palestinian cause. It is symptomatic that it is precisely those Palestinian leaders and institutions that they represent that the Israeli power has chosen as privileged targets for its army of occupation", writes Mr Wurtz. He continues: "Israel has never in fact accepted to give back the occupied territories. Today, it completely ignores UN Security Council Resolution 1402 that demands the "withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian villages". It allows itself the right to ban the European envoy, Mr Moratinos, and the special United Nations envoy, from access to the office of the President of the Palestinian Authority. It taunts the Heads of State who call on it to put an end to its unbearable operations".
"All the Security Council member nations, including the United States, have adopted Resolution 1402. It is now up to them to make sure it is implemented. The European Union has sought to convince Washington to give its aid to an initiative that involves, alongside the US, the UN, Europe and Russia. But in vain. President Bush continues to give his go-ahead to Ariel Sharon's warring adventure. Under these conditions, there is a strong and legitimate expectation that the Fifteen will take an independent initiative, supported where necessary by the candidate countries or other partners", says Mr Wurtz, who considers that the EU should demand the immediate despatch of an international force to protect the civilian populations. He also restates the double proposal that he made on 5 February during plenary (see EUROPE of 6 February, p.5): - that the fifteen EU foreign ministers should together go to Jerusalem, asking to meet Yasser Arafat and firmly demanding the respect of international law, the priority of which is immediate cessation of the military offensive in progress; - that the EP apply without delay its decision to send a very high level delegation to the country, if possible headed by its president. "Should the Israeli authorities oppose such initiatives or refuse to follow them through, it seems to me it would go without saying that the Association Agreement linking Israel to the European Union should be suspended and relations between Europe and this government reconsidered in consequence". The president of the left-wing group also asks whether it is not possible to envisage, in order to give these political approaches the greatest possible impact and the best chance of success, calling on fellow citizens to express their views throughout Europe at the same moment - by a symbolic act to be determined - their refusal of war, their desire for peace founded on an end to occupation and their rejection of terrorist action, whomsoever it is perpetrated by. He ends his letter with the hope that the conference of the presidents of the political groups will hear Luisa Morgantini, on Thursday, upon her return from Ramallah.