Strasbourg, 11/02/2004 (Agence Europe) - Presenting a declaration by the Irish Presidency on Wednesday in Strasbourg on the EU's position regarding the hearing at the International Court of Justice on the Israeli wall in the West Bank, Irish Foreign Minister Dick Roche said Israelis must stop building this barrier. He deplored the "regrettably uncompromising" attitude of the Israeli government. Mr Roche explained that the EU's abstention during the vote on launching jurisdictional procedure did not bring into question the fact that the Union was opposed to the wall which runs counter to international law. The EU doubted the procedure was useful, he said, recalling that the Court was to give its decision between end May and July this year. Mr Roche also promised that the Presidency would do everything it could to promote the implementation of the Quartet's roadmap and move forward along the road to a definitive and equitable settlement to the conflict.
Speaking on behalf of the EPP-ED, Michael Gahler (CSU) felt that EU abstention from voting was justified. He gave his support to the Presidency on this. Spanish Socialist Emilio Menendez was highly critical of this "wall of shame" which makes the establishment of a Palestinian State impossible. He considers, however, that the wall is also a "smokescreen" which hardly conceals how difficult it is to establish a Palestinian State as long as there are Israeli colonies. British Liberal Democrat Sarah Ludford asked why the wall, which is to stop terrorist acts, is not along the green line. Speaking on behalf of the United Left, Luisa Morgantini (RC, Italy) read out a very concrete piece of evidence by a nun on the impact that this wall has on daily life. The co-president of the Greens/EFA Group, German national Daniel Cohn-Bendit, supported the procedure begun at the Court. A wall built on 1967 frontiers would be in respect of international law, but the Court should recognise that the current location of the wall is in fact annexing territory, he explained, hoping that a legal opinion would be pronounced to state that the wall is "denial of the Palestinian State". The Danish member of the Europe of Democracies and Diversities Group, Ulla Sandbaek, felt that one should compel Prime Minister Sharon to comply with United Nations resolutions by setting an ultimatum as had been done for Saddam Hussein. Italian Radical Marco Pannella pointed out that the Palestinian Minister for Foreign Affairs would support accession of a federal State comprised of Israel and Palestine to the European Union.
In response, Dick Roche recalled that he comes from a "small island where walls, it is well known (…), are the cause and the cost of division". He repeated the commitment taken by the Irish Presidency to contribute to seeking a peaceful solution. He reaffirmed the Council's concern for the consequences that this illegal barrier put up on Palestinian territory would have on the local population.