Brussels, 12/09/2003 (Agence Europe) - On 11 September, the Italian Presidency made the following declaration on behalf of the European Union:
"The EU expresses its shock and dismay for the two suicide attacks that occurred on September 9 near the Tzrifin Israeli Defence Force base and in Jerusalem, which, once again, caused numerous deaths among Israeli citizens. The EU extends its condolences to the families of the victims and solidarity to those injured and to the government of Israel. The EU wishes to reaffirm its strongest condemnation of these two terrorist attacks as well as the organisations that planned and executed them. The resurgence of terrorist attacks is claiming an intolerable toll of innocent Israeli citizens, it is obstructing the efforts of the international community to restore peace in the region and it is damaging the interests of the cause of the Palestinian people. The EU thus considers the authors of these acts as enemies of peace and strongly urges the Palestinian Authority to take all necessary concrete measures against those terrorist organisations that are opposed to any political dialogue and undermine all the efforts to restore hope and to bring peace, security and better conditions of life to the region. It is in this context and in the framework of the global fight against terrorism that the EU decided, on September 5 and 6 at the informal Ministerial meeting of Rivera Del Grad, to begin procedures leading to the insertion of the political branch of Hammers in the European list of terrorist organisations. The EU renews the Thessaloniki European Council appeal to all Palestinian organisations to declare an immediate and unconditional cease-fire. The EU takes note of the resignation of the Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and wishes to reiterate its support for the PNA efforts to re-launch the peace process, in the framework of the Quartet's road map. The EU calls upon the new Prime Minister, Ahmad Qurei, to continue with determination on the same path and offers its full support.
The EU urges the two parties to remain strongly committed to the need of an ongoing dialogue and to the implementation of the road map, and, in this regard, to take the following measures:
-The PNA: forming a new government; re-organising its security forces; re-establishing public order and undertaking visible efforts to dismantle the terrorist organisation; implementing the reforms already started and organising free and transparent elections.
- the Israeli government: withdrawing the army from the autonomous areas; putting an end to targeted killings; relieving the Palestinian people from the road blocks and the other restrictions imposed on them; freezing all settlement activities and the building of the security wall along a track that jeopardises a political solution to the conflict.
In order for these measures to be effectively implemented, the EU reaffirms its commitment and the need for a determined and co-ordinated action by the International Community. The upcoming Ministerial meeting of the Quartet will be the appropriate forum to assess, as provided for in the road map, the performance of the parties in the implementation of the plan and in order to decide further steps needed to ensure an effective and credible monitoring on the field.
The Acceding Countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, the Associated Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey and the EFTA countries Iceland and Liechtenstein, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration.