Strasbourg, 21/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - A common resolution from the EPP-ED, PES, ALDE, UEN and Greens/EFA was adopted following a debate during the plenary session (EUROPE 9592) on Thursday 21 February in Strasbourg. In it, the European Parliament reaffirms its deep concern regarding the humanitarian and political crisis affecting the Gaza Strip and the “serious incidents” that could occur.
The EP expressed its “deepest sympathies” for the civilians affected by the violence in Gaza and in the south of Israel. It also reiterated its appeal to end all acts of violence by Israel and to end any military action endangering the lives of, or killing, civilians. Furthermore, it calls on Hamas to stop Palestinian militias firing rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory. The EP stressed that the civilian population “should be protected from any military action or collective punishment and it asked Israel, as the occupying power, to honour its international obligations on Gaza. The EP is “convinced that the policy of isolating the Gaza Strip has failed on both political and humanitarian levels” and it calls for an end to the blockade and the controlled opening up of passage points to enter and leave the Gaza Strip at Rafah, Karni and elsewhere. It calls for the EU border assistance mission to be set up again at Rafah and welcomes the declaration by High Representative Javier Solana that called for a new Council mandate for the mission. Although it welcomes the Palestinian Authority's proposal to take control of the passage points, on the basis of an agreement with Egypt and Israel, it does, however, call for implementation of the necessary conditions for involving all the concerned parties in the Gaza Strip. Israel is being called on to guarantee “continued and sufficient access for aid and humanitarian assistance, services and basic goods, including fuel and electricity” to the Gaza Strip. The EP says that it is very concerned about the consequences on the environment and human health due to it being impossible to carry out maintenance on waste water treatment facilities at the Beit Lahia plant. It also highlighted “the importance of a permanent geographic and trade link” between Gaza and the West Bank. It calls for the setting up of an “emergency and exemplary” energy project for Gaza in order to ensure autonomy and self-sufficiency in electricity production and in desalinating the water for its people.
It welcomes the result of the internal donors' conference in December 2007 in favour of the future Palestinian state, which promised donations of more than $7.4bn. The EP indicated that the different parties involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict had made commitments at Annapolis to organise negotiations in good faith to conclude the peace treaty that “would bring a response to all the problems suffered, particularly the fundamental questions, without exception, by the end of 2008, as laid down in the previous agreements”. It calls on Hamas to revise its position, as part of the principles of the Quartet, and for Hamas to support the peace process and ongoing negotiations. The EP welcomes Egypt's reaction to the incidents at Rafah, which allowed many Palestinian families to obtain essential goods. The EP is calling on Cairo to continue to play an active role for peace and stability in the region.
On the eve of the vote, during a press conference illustrated by poignant photos of the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, nine MEPs headed by Luisa Morgantini (GUE/NGL, Italy) - Jill Evans (Greens, United Kingdom), Gyula Hegyi (PES, Hungary), Richard Howitt (PES, United Kingdom), Miloš Koterec (PES, Slovakia), Jean Lambert (Greens, United Kingdom), Jamila Madeira (PES, Portugal), Eugenijus Maldeikis (UEN, Lithuania) and Philippe Morillon (ALDE, France) - who had visited the region on 2-7 February, expressed their “profound pessimism”. They said that they had been able to inform themselves about the situation in the narrow strip where 3800 inhabitants live in one square metre of land, and about the results of the ongoing peace negotiations. Mr Morillon denounced the “the disease of fear, created by the different extremists”. He added that the Gaza blockade was counterproductive and “destroyed the economy while strengthening Hamas”. Mr Howitt denounced the state of siege and the Middle Age conditions imposed on the people of Gaza. Ms Madeira concluded that “an EP resolution is not enough. The EU has the power, it must act politically - this is what the people we met asked us to do”. (E.H.)