Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-10-06-Speech-3-055"
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"en.19991006.2.3-055"2
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"Mr President, I am convinced that we must make the most of every opening and every chance of building peace through the assertion of the human, social and political rights of each individual or people. The situation in the Middle East is still a long way from this, but without doubt, the election of Ehud Barak as Prime Minister of Israel and the Palestinian’s peaceful choice have given peace a chance. This was shown by recent developments in the reworking of the Oslo Accord at Sharm elSheikh. But for peace, or at least possible justice to materialise, the Israeli authorities need to take more steps – some colleagues have already said this – not only because of the Palestinian-Israeli question, but also because of the Lebanese and Syrian question. The occupation of southern Lebanon must end and Syria’s land must be returned, as laid down in various UN resolutions. Of course, this is all in the interests of the security of the Israeli State. However, the security issue cannot hide the illegality of the military occupation or bombings of civilians, which happen in southern Lebanon, or the existence of prisons like those in Qian. But the Palestinian question is still at the heart of the matter.
In March 1999 in Berlin, the European Union reaffirmed the Palestinians’ right to a sovereign, democratic State that will peacefully co-exist with the Israeli State. In Sharm elSheikh, the conflicting parties undertook to lay down the final State by 2000. To achieve this, it is imperative that Israel realises that for the Palestinians, a sovereign state is not a generous concession but a right. Above all, Israel must not take any action that will change the territorial and demographic order of the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem. Still today, we hear news of Palestinian houses that have been demolished, confiscated land and the growth of colonial settlements. On 25 September, the military administration gave the go-ahead for the confiscation of Palestinian land belonging to 79 villages, in the Green Line area of cultivated and inhabited lands. The same happened in the village adjacent to Hebron. In East Jerusalem, men and women’s identity cards are confiscated to reduce their numbers in an operation that the centre for Israeli human rights has called ‘silent deportation’. Moreover, there is still the Palestinian refugees tragedy. Well, the UN resolution must be implemented. Of course, the opening of the corridor between Gaza and the West Bank is extremely positive, but Israeli checks make it difficult for men, women and goods to pass through. The European Union has a large part to play here. The European Union has played a positive and important role in the peace process in everything it has done and I think that it should continue to do so. In this sense, our role, the role that the European organisations are also performing, is essential."@en1
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