– having regard to the UN Security Council resolutions on the Middle East conflict,
– 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 June 2006 on the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territories and the role of the EU and 7 September 2006 on the situation in the Middle East,
– having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. shocked by the killing of 19 Palestinians, mostly children and women during an Israeli attack in Beit Hanun on 8 November 2006,
B. shocked by the war Israel has been waging against the Palestinian population of Gaza since June, killing hundreds and injuring thousands, most of them civilians; extremely concerned by the continuation on an everyday basis of killings, arrests, the devastation of infrastructure and the bombing of residential neighbourhoods in the West Bank, too,
C. 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,
D. seriously concerned that the combination of continued military strikes by air and land, the near total closure of the Gaza Strip, non-payment of public-sector salaries, the absence of basic law and order, declining service delivery and the lack of any apparent political prospects, the situation in Gaza has become truly explosive,
E. reiterating that the right of a state to defend itself cannot justify any disproportionate or indiscriminate use of force; recalling that international humanitarian law strictly prohibits attacks on civilians,
F. recalling that the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, has asked the Security Council to intervene and has requested the presence of United Nations observers on the Gaza-Israel border; deeply deploring that the United States have vetoed the proposed UN Security Council resolution and thereby legitimised the massacre and the continuation of the war against Gaza,
G. noting that this escalation of the Israeli war against the population of the Gaza Strip is taking place at a time when, as a result of the efforts of the President of the Palastinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, there is a real chance to establish a new Palastinian government of national unity,
H. deeply deploring the fact that, while the situation is becoming more and more dangerous, the Middle East peace process still finds itself in a total political and diplomatic deadlock; taking an extremely critical view of the European Council’s inability to take appropriate action,
1. Condemns firmly the war Israel is waging against Gaza and the Israeli military operation carried out in Beit Hanun; takes the view that the indiscriminate and massive Israeli military operations against Gaza represent a serious breach of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations amounting to a war crime;
2. Calls on the Israeli Government immediately to stop the military operations against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank; calls for an international observation and protection mission to be sent to the ‘Green Line’ under the aegis of the United Nations, as a step towards a de-escalation of the violence; supports D’Alema’s proposal for the deployment of UN peacekeeping troops in Gaza;
3. Deplores the fact that Israel is still withholding Palestinian tax and customs revenues and by doing so is aggravating the humanitarian crisis; insists on the immediate resumption of the transfers; takes the view that this situation is one of the reasons for the serious aggravation of the humanitarian crisis; calls on the Council and the Commission to continue to guarantee, together with the international community, essential humanitarian aid for the Palestinian population; calls for the Temporary International Mechanism to be used without discrimination, including all public employees;
4. Calls on the Presidency and the Member States to urge the UN Security Council to meet the request of the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, to intervene and to take the necessary decisions to bring to an end to the escalating Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip;
5. 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 Gaza, with regard, in particular, to full compliance with Article 2 of the Association Agreement;
6. Calls on the Quartet (UN, EU, USA and Russia) to act urgently for the resumption of negotiations;
7. Shares the view of the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, that the key to the solution of the Middle East conflict is the creation of a viable Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital;
8. Repeats its call on the Israeli Government to
|
|
∙
|
put an immediate end to the blockade on Gaza, in particular by reopening the border to Egypt and guaranteeing free movement for persons and goods at Rafah, Karni and other border crossings;
|
|
|
∙
|
release Palestinian ministers, elected parliamentarians and mayors;
|
|
|
∙
|
stop work on and dismantle the ‘separation wall’ by which Palestinian land is confiscated and annexed, as requested by the International Court of Justice;
|
|
|
∙
|
negotiate the exchange of prisoners without delay, so as to set free the Israeli soldier and the Palestinian prisoners;
|
9. Repeats its call on the Palestinian militias immediately to cease firing rockets into Israeli territory;
10. Reiterates its support for the efforts made by the President of the Palestinian Authority and the other national forces to promote a national dialogue between the Palestinian parties and to set up a new Palestinian government of national unity on the basis of the document on national reconciliation promoted by Marwan Barghouti and other political prisoners;
11. Calls on the EU to resume financial cooperation with the Palestinian National Authority;
12. Underlines Israel’s accountability for the damage to civil infrastructure; insists that Israel must pay for the costs of reconstruction;
13. Reiterates the right of all people in the region to live in security and peace; recalls the plan put forward by the Arab League in 2002, which proposes that all countries in the region normalise their relations with Israel in exchange for Israel returning to its 1967 borders and accepting Security Council resolutions;
14. Repeats its calls for an international peace conference on the Middle East and negotiations on an overall regional peace agreement based on the relevant UN Security Council resolutions; calls on the Council and the Member States to take urgent action to this end;
15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the parliaments and Governments of Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, the Palestinian National Authority, Russia and the United States, and the UN Secretary-General.
|
