Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-01-31-Speech-3-111"
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"en.20010131.5.3-111"2
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"Mr President, we often use the word ‘tragedy’ as if we were talking about a natural disaster, such as an earthquake. To use the word ‘tragedy’ for situations such as the spread of mad cow disease – which is certainly heading towards disastrous proportions – or for the situation in Palestine is, in my view, inappropriate because, in both cases, specific people are responsible.
The horrific earthquakes that have struck El Salvador or India cannot be compared with the situation of frustration and humiliation suffered by the Palestinians at the moment. This situation was absurdly aggravated by specific and identifiable people on 29 September on the terraces of the mosques in Jerusalem. I am a friend of Palestine and I am not an enemy of Israel. I believe that the provocation by Ariel Sharon in September, which was permitted by the people who could have prevented it, and the hundreds of Palestinian deaths since then, have created a climate in Palestinian society which makes it difficult for President Arafat to accept late – although maybe reasonable – peace proposals which, had they been presented earlier, would, in my view, have lead to an agreement.
Hence, a thorny issue, such as the right to return of the Palestinian refugees, could have been presented by the Palestinian Authority to its own constituents as an issue involving sensitive details which had to be dealt with in conjunction with the Israeli Government on the proviso, of course, that that government agreed, in time, to Palestinian demands that were easier to accept.
It remains to be seen whether, on the international stage, the new United States administration will adopt more of an isolationist approach than the previous one. However, I believe that the departure of Clinton has meant that, for the moment, United States diplomacy in the region will be less active. With all due respect and consideration for our American friends, I believe that this is an additional reason for the European Union to make an even greater effort to truly promote its role in the region.
Finally, I would like to make a couple of points. Firstly, let us hope that the High Representative, Mr Solana, is right to predict that an agreement may be possible before 6 February
but let us not forget that Sharon is still casting his shadow. Secondly, I have just returned from a visit by the European Parliament delegation for relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council and I would like to encourage all of those who are able to do so to go to Palestine, to go to Gaza and the West Bank, to go there, to have meetings, to look people in the eye and listen. Perhaps they would come to understand better."@en1
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"Inshallah"1
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