Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-05-Speech-4-178"
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"en.20001005.12.4-178"2
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"Madam President, my contribution today is not based on all kinds of theoretical analyses but on my own experiences over the past week, because I happened to be in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip when the disturbances took place. On that basis, I would like to make three observations. Firstly, I would like to comment on Mr Sharon’s provocation on Thursday. It was clear from the outset that the issue was one of internal party-politics, namely the battle between Sharon and Netanyahu. In my view, what is far more damaging is the fact that this provocation was condoned by Prime Minister Barak, who, in my view, either made the huge mistake of wrongly gauging the implications of Mr Sharon’s visit, or made a conscious attempt to bring the whole situation to a head.
Secondly, I would like to turn to the disturbances at the Al Aqsa Mosque on Friday. The next day, I talked to various people who visited that Mosque and it is really incomprehensible that various men in their fifties and sixties – i.e. not those throwing the stones – were shot at in the Mosque. Talking of provocation, I find it extremely shocking that the Israeli Government should shoot people who were praying in the Mosque on Temple Mount on the Holy Day of the Muslims, and I believe that the international community was entirely justified in its condemnation of the incident.
My final comment concerns a visit to the hospital in Eastern Jerusalem the next day. In fact, I have quite a few observations regarding that visit. I found it extremely shocking to see that during the disturbances, an ambulance driver was shot. In another incident which I witnessed with my own eyes, an ambulance driver was shot in the foot from a ten centimetre range as he was trying to come to the rescue of some people. The most shocking of all is the fact that the Israeli police and the army used fragmentation bullets. These are bullets which, upon contact with the body, shatter into dozens of pieces. They are banned internationally, even in battles amongst soldiers; yet they are now used against citizens.
My conclusion is that the Israeli Government has applied excessive force which has been widely condemned, and rightly so. My question to Mr Solana and the Commission is the following: what could the European Union do in very concrete terms in order, first of all, to substantiate the international inquiry into these disturbances, and secondly, to bring the peace process back on track?"@en1
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