[WCUSP] European Parliament resolution on the situation in Gaza
yvonne simmons
roweenayvonne at yahoo.com
Fri Nov 24 12:35:09 CST 2006
> ----- Original Message>
> I send you attached, for your information, the
> resolution voted by the European Parliament on
> November 16.
> Luisa Morgantini is Member of the European
> Parliament and Chair of the EP Development
> Committee, as well as, of course, Woman in Black.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Chiara Ascari
>
>
>
>
> Chiara Ascari
>
> Assistant to Luisa Morgantini
>
> European Parliament / Parlement Européen
> ASP 06F164 - Rue Wiertz 60,
> B-1047, Brussels, Belgium
> Phone: +32 (0)2 28 47151
> Fax: +32 (0)2 28 49151
> E-mail: lmorgantini at europarl.eu.int
>
>
> European Parliament resolution on the
> situation in the Gaza Strip
>
> The European Parliament ,
>
> - having regard to its previous resolutions
> on the Middle East, in particular those of 2
> February 2006 on the result of the Palestinian
> elections and the situation in East Jerusalem(1) , 1
> June 2006 on the humanitarian crisis in the
> Palestinian territories and the role of the EU(2)
> and 7 September 2006 on the situation in the Middle
> East(3) ,
>
> - having regard to UN Security Council
> Resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973),
>
> - having regard to the Quartet's "Roadmap
> for Peace" of 30 April 2003,
>
> - having regard to the conclusions of the
> General Affairs and External Relations Council of 15
> September 2006, 16 and 17 October 2006 and 13
> November 2006,
>
> - having regard to Rule 103(4) of its Rules
> of Procedure,
>
> A. whereas the Israeli military operation in
> The Gaza Strip has resulted in over 350 deaths,
> including many civilians, since June 2006 and
> whereas the Israeli attack in Beit Hanun on 8
> November 2006 resulted in the death of 19
> Palestinians, mostly children and women,
>
> B. extremely concerned about the fact that,
> as a result of the massive devastation of public
> facilities and private homes, the disruption of
> hospitals, clinics and schools, the denial of access
> to water, food and electricity, the destruction of
> agricultural lands and the total blockade on the
> Gaza Strip, the humanitarian crisis has reached a
> catastrophic level,
>
> C. whereas attacks targeted directly at
> civilian assets and disproportionate or
> indiscriminate attacks on the civilian population
> represent a flagrant breach of fundamental rights as
> laid down by international law and the Geneva
> Conventions,
>
> D. whereas Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
> Olmert expressed his distress and voiced sorrow for
> what he said was the result of a "technical failure"
> at Beit Hanun on 8 November 2006 and the Israeli
> Army has decided to initiate an internal
> investigation,
>
> E. whereas the right of a state to defend
> itself cannot justify any disproportionate or
> indiscriminate use of force, and international
> humanitarian law strictly prohibits attacks on
> civilians,
>
> F. whereas the new cycle of violence is
> threatening the efforts made by the Palestinian
> National Authority to form a new Palestinian
> government of national unity,
>
> G. whereas the international community and
> the European Union are providing considerable
> support for efforts to solve the humanitarian crisis
> in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with special
> regard to the Temporary International Mechanism
> (TIM); whereas, however, this assistance cannot meet
> all needs,
>
> H. deeply concerned at the implications of
> the recent appointment of Avigdor Lieberman as
> Deputy Prime Minister of Israel,
>
> I. whereas the Middle East peace process is
> in political and diplomatic deadlock, although a
> comprehensive and lasting solution to the
> Israeli-Palestinian conflict is essential to the
> establishment of peace and security in the whole
> region,
>
> J. whereas the European Union, as a member
> of the Quartet (which also comprises the United
> Nations, the United States of America and Russia),
> has a special responsibility for peace and security
> in the Middle East, which is in Europe's
> neighbourhood, and whereas the instruments and
> methods for the coordination of the Common Foreign
> and Security Policy (CFSP) must therefore be
> improved, inter alia through the adoption of a
> common position in the framework of the CFSP on the
> basis of Articles 15 and 16 of the Treaty on
> European Union,
>
> 1. Expresses its deepest condolences and
> sympathy to the families of the victims of the
> recent bombing in Beit Hanun and to all other
> innocent casualties;
>
> 2. Expresses its deep indignation at the
> Israeli military operation carried out in Beit Hanun
> and in the Gaza Strip, and condemns the Israeli
> army's use of disproportionate action, which is
> undermining attempts to initiate the peace process;
>
> 3. Calls on the Israeli government to halt
> its military operations in the Gaza Strip
> immediately, and reaffirms that there is no military
> solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict;
>
> 4. Calls on the Palestinian militias to bring
> to an end the firing of rockets into Israeli
> territory, which is indiscriminate and deliberately
> targets civilians, to respect the truce and to
> refrain from further escalating the conflict;
> condemns the recent rocket attack in Sderot and the
> killing of innocent Israeli civilians;
>
> 5. Expresses its deep concern about the
> possible grave consequences of the current crisis,
> including further military and terrorist attacks,
> undermining the fragile political situation in the
> region as a whole;
>
> 6. Notes the blocking in the UN Security
> Council of a draft resolution on the situation in
> the Gaza Strip by a US veto, and regrets the lack of
> a strong and clear stance by the international
> community on the current crisis;
>
> 7. Calls on the US Government to reassess its
> role in the Quartet and in the Israeli-Palestinian
> conflict, with a view to supporting an end to the
> violence and a new and genuine dialogue between the
> parties;
>
> 8. Calls on the Council and the Member States
> to adopt a common position pursuant to Article 15 of
> the Treaty on European Union, in order to make an
> appropriate assessment of the current situation and
> to promote a serious attempt to halt the violence
> and bring the parties concerned to the negotiating
> table;
>
> 9. Invites the Quartet to act urgently for
> the resumption of negotiations with and between the
> parties concerned and for the full implementation of
> all parts of the Roadmap; declares once again, at
> this particular stage, that a solution to the Middle
> East conflict will only be possible through the
> negotiation of a firm and final peace agreement as
> set out in the Roadmap, without prior conditions,
> based on the existence of two democratic, sovereign
> and viable states, living peacefully side by side
> within secure and recognised international borders,
> and that the continuing loss of civilian lives is
> intolerable;
>
> 10. Reiterates its suggestion that the
> presence of a multinational force in Lebanon could
> be taken as an exemplary model to be followed in the
> Gaza Strip and the West Bank, in order to protect
> the civilian population on both sides; invites the
> Council, in the meantime, to launch an initiative to
> dispatch international military observers to the
> Gaza Strip, and calls on all parties to endorse and
> fully cooperate with such a proposal;
>
> 11. Calls on the Council urgently to convene
> the EU-Israel Association Council in order to
> express the position of the European Union after the
> Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, with
> regard, in particular, to full compliance with
> Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement(4)
> ;
>
> 12. Calls on the Council to address itself,
> within the framework of the EU-Palestinian Interim
> Association Agreement(5) , to the new Palestinian
> government of national unity in order to confront
> the issue of violence and security;
>
> 13. Stresses that human rights must be fully
> respected and that the violation of international
> humanitarian law must be halted immediately in the
> Gaza Strip and the West Bank;
>
> 14. Supports the EU Presidency's statement
> urging the Israeli government to cease all
> provocative activities in the Palestinian
> territories, including building settlements,
> constructing the separation wall, conducting
> indiscriminate military operations and demolishing
> Palestinian homes;
>
> 15. Calls on the Commission and the Member
> States to supply extra medical aid to Palestinian
> hospitals, in particular in the Gaza Strip;
>
> 16. Welcomes the agreement reached by the
> President of the Palestinian Authority to promote a
> national dialogue between the Palestinian political
> parties and the appointment of a new Palestinian
> Prime Minister to form a new Palestinian government,
> which should act as a negotiating partner for the
> international community; considers that this could
> lead to the restoration of economic aid to the
> Palestinian Authority;
>
> 17. Calls on the Council and the Commission
> to continue to guarantee, together with the
> international community, essential humanitarian aid
> for the Palestinian population; demands that the TIM
> be reinforced and extended in terms of duration and
> resources; calls on the Israeli government urgently
> to resume the transfer of withheld Palestinian tax
> and customs revenues;
>
> 18. Calls on Israel to lift its economic
> blockade of the Gaza Strip, to facilitate trade
> between the Palestinian territories, Israel and the
> world as a whole, to promote economic development in
> the Gaza Strip for the benefit of both Palestinians
> and Israelis, and to permit the movement of people
> at Rafah, in compliance with the Agreement on
> Movement and Access and the EU Border Assistance
> Mission, as well as at Karni and at other border
> crossings in the Gaza Strip; calls on the EU to face
> its full responsibility on the implementation of
> this agreement;
>
> 19. Reiterates its call for the immediate
> release of the Palestinian ministers and legislators
> in Israeli custody and of the abducted Israeli
> soldier;
>
> 20. Calls on the Council to make every effort
> to convene an international peace conference - along
> the lines of the 1991 Madrid Conference - in order
> to find a comprehensive, lasting and viable solution
> to the problems in the area, based on the relevant
> UN Security Council resolutions, and considers that
> a unilateral approach by any of the parties
> concerned must be rejected;
>
> 21. Considers the involvement of the League
> of Arab States to be essential in this context;
> considers the League's 2002 "Beirut Plan", as well
> as the 2003 Geneva Initiative, to be important
> contributions to the negotiations, which should be
> duly taken into account;
>
> 22. Instructs its President to forward this
> resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High
> Representative for the CFSP, the governments and
> parliaments of the Member States, the UN
> Secretary-General, the President of the Palestinian
> Authority, the Palestinian Legislative Council, the
> Israeli Government and Knesset, the governments and
> parliaments of the United States and the Russian
> Federation, and the Secretary-General of the League
> of Arab States.
>
>
>
> (1) Texts Adopted , P6_TA(2006)0041.
>
> (2) Texts Adopted , P6_TA(2006)0237.
>
> (3) Texts Adopted , P6_TA(2006)0348.
>
> (4) OJ L 147, 21.6.2000, p. 3.
>
> (5) OJ L 187, 16.7.1997, p. 1.
>
>
>
>
>
> > _______________________________________________
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