Brussels, 02/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - Nabil Chaath, Foreign Minister for Palestine, confirmed on Wednesday before the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs that the Palestinians were determined to move toward democratic elections. He stressed the importance of the presidential ballot of 9 January 2005 and the legislative elections that should follow in the spring. He also placed emphasis on the difficulties that must be overcome and called on Europe to play a leading role in the initiatives that will facilitate the unfolding of these elections. "We have just lost our historical leader. The Palestinians are in difficulty when it comes to moving forward, but we have chosen the democratic way, despite the risks", the minister said. Playing down the euphoric optimism that he feels prevails in diplomatic circles, he prefers to speak of "opportunity" rather than a "boulevard of opportunity" toward peace. He also awaits a gesture from Israel. The Palestinian Authority, for its part, is seeking to modify its electoral laws, which could have an influence on the result of legislative elections, he stressed. "We are moving toward a mixed system where 50% of those elected will benefit from the proportional system and 50% the majority system. This procedure presents a risk for Fatah. But it will allow better representation of the small parties". Insisting on the role that the EU could play in these elections to "reduce the risks", Nabil Chaath called on the EU to be actively involved in the observation and development of new electoral laws, to support the process financially and to carry out political mediation in order to obtain a ceasefire and the end of the Israeli occupation which, in his eyes, are the conditions for successful elections.
On the subject of the ban preventing Palestinians from moving between the different towns in the occupied territories, the minister said, in response to Adamos Adamou (GUE/NGL, Cyprus): "It is clear that the elections will be almost impossible if Israel continues its policy of occupation, assassination and blocking". Mr Chaath considers "Israel must honour its commitments" allowing the Palestinians living in East Jerusalem to vote, and stopping incursions so that free elections may take place. The Palestinian Authority intends to rebuild its security forces and to put an end to the presence of "independent militia", he announced. Answering Véronique de Keyser (Belgian Socialist) and John Bowis (British Conservative) who asked him whether he planned to negotiate with Hamas in order to reduce the role of fundamentalism in resistance movements, Nabil Chaath said it is difficult to "force people to give up their weapons". He nonetheless felt that "the Islamic Jihad and Hamas are on the way to engaging a ceasefire". On the other hand, he wonders whether Israel would cease its attacks in the case of a commitment from Hamas.
Questioned by French Socialist Pierre Schapira as to Israel's decision to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian minister recalled that "in the beginning, this decision was seen as problematical, as unilateral withdrawal could destroy the Quartet's Roadmap" on the Middle East. In his view, however, if some conditions are met, then withdrawal is welcome. "Firstly, withdrawal must be carried out in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority. Secondly, it must operate in the context of the Roadmap. Then, Palestinians must benefit from total freedom of movement. Finally, withdrawal must operate in parallel to the ceasefire", the Palestinian Foreign Minister explained. Welcoming the "energy" with which Europe has thrown itself into promoting the peace process, "through the Roadmap", Mr Chaath said he was convinced that "resolution of the Palestinian question will remove the pretexts used by extremists for a war of cultures, which today results in anti-Semitism or in Islamophobia".