Brussels, 26/05/2005 (Agence Europe) - On the eve of the 57th anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel, the delegation from The Knesset, which came to address the committee on foreign affairs of the EP on 23 May, spoke of concerns and hopes about Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plans to withdraw from the Gaza Strip. The application of this plan is conditional upon coordination with the Palestinian Authority and the commitment of Abu Mazen to fight against terrorist acts, the Knesset members pointed out. The Israeli parliamentarians voiced their hopes that the elections planned for 17 July would confirm the change in attitude of the Palestinian authorities, which they have noted since the death of Yasser Arafat. Mr Yatom, a member of the Labour party, said that as Israel was the only democracy in the Middle East, the international community expected the Israelis to make more concessions and take more risks, but the withdrawal from Gaza was inconceivable without minimum cooperation on the part of the Palestinian authorities. “The Palestinians have never wasted an opportunity to waste an opportunity”, he said. The MEPs, such as Vittorino Emanuele Agnoletto (GUE, Italy) expressed their hopes for the new Palestinian leaders, and reaffirmed the need for Israel to respect human rights.