Mideast situation/Palestine question – EU statement – Letter from Belgium

Letter dated 14 August 2001 from the Permanent Representative of Belgium

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honour to draw to your attention the statement following the attack in Haifa on 12 August and the closure of Orient House in East Jerusalem issued on 13 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 of its annex issued as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Jean De Ruyt

Permanent Representative of Belgium to the United Nations

Annex to the letter dated 14 August 2001 from the Permanent Representative of Belgium

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

Statement following the attack in Haifa on 12 August and the closure of Orient House

in East Jerusalem issued on 13 August 2001 by the Presidency of the European Union

on behalf of the European Union

The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the recent suicide-bomb attacks.

These acts, in particular those targeted at Israeli civilians, are hateful and repugnant in the extreme.

Terrorism is a serious threat to the stability of the region. It must be resisted with the utmost rigour. The European Union also condemns any assistance to the organizations that engage in terrorism, whether this be financial aid, arms supplies or training.

The European Union calls on the Palestinian Authority to do its utmost to arrest and bring to justice the perpetrators, instigators and sponsors of acts of terror.

The closure of Orient House and other institutions in Jerusalem does not serve the interests of peace and can only weaken the Palestinian leadership at a time when it is called upon to show firm resolve in the fight against extremism. It runs counter to the declared objective, which must remain the restoration of security for all. The European Union would like to see the closure reversed at the earliest possible date and the archives returned. Unilateral acts can do nothing to alter the international community’s long-standing position on the status of the Occupied Territories, including East Jerusalem.

The European Union calls on Israel to continue to show the utmost restraint in the use of military force.

The European Union urges the two sides to open a sustained political dialogue without delay in order to break the deadlock and expresses its support for the initiatives along these lines planned by Mr. Peres, the Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs. The only way to restore security for all is to return to the route mapped out by the Madrid Conference, the Oslo Accords and the recommendations of the Mitchell report.