Bombing in Jerusalem – EU statement – Letter from Belgium

Letter dated 10 August 2001 from the Permanent Representative of Belgium

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honour to bring to your attention the statement on the attack in Jerusalem issued on 9 August 2001 by the Presidency of the European Union on behalf of the European Union (see annex).

I should be grateful if you would have the text of this letter and its annex circulated as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Jean De Ruyt

Permanent Representative of Belgium to the United Nations

Annex to the letter dated 10 August 2001 from the Permanent Representative

of Belgium to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

Statement concerning the attack in Jerusalem issued on 9 August 2001 by

the Presidency of the European Union on behalf of the European Union

The Presidency of the European Union unreservedly condemns the bombing of a Jerusalem shopping centre today, 9 August. It abhors this cowardly act, which mainly claimed the lives of innocent civilians.

The Presidency reiterates that the European Union rejects all such forms of violence as unjustifiable. Attacks of this kind merely serve to aggravate the further decline in what is already a worrying situation in the Middle East and render ineffectual all the attempts being made by the international community to relaunch the stalled political process.

The Presidency calls on all parties to shun violence forthwith in favour of dialogue and negotiation.

It is high time that the parties to this conflict regained their self-control and adopted a resolutely forward-looking approach, working together to restore a climate of mutual trust that will be essential if the vicious cycle of attacks and revenge attacks is to be broken.

The Presidency also stresses that the civilian populations on both sides cannot indefinitely remain hostages to a conflict that has surely already gone on too long. After 10 months of fighting it is now clear that only negotiation, with the necessary compromises this entails, is capable of leading to a definitive solution to the Palestinian issue and ensuring lasting peace and stability in the region.

The Presidency calls on the parties in question to display a maximum degree of restraint.