Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-12-12-Speech-3-136"
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"en.20011212.4.3-136"2
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". – Madam President, over the last couple of years I have had the opportunity – perhaps I should say that alas I have had the opportunity – of making all too many statements to this Parliament on the situation in the Middle East. It is with regret that I note a dramatic deterioration of the situation in the region despite the tremendous efforts of the international community, in particular the United Nations, the United States, the Russian Federation and the European Union.
And it is equally crucial that Israel withdraws its military forces, ends the extra-judicial killings, and ends the closures and restrictions on Palestinian people, particularly the senseless bombing of property and infrastructure. It is difficult to see how the destruction of the Gaza airport, the destruction of an EU-funded forensic laboratory and the destruction of vast areas of arable land can help fight terrorism or increase Israel’s security.
I would strongly argue the opposite. In the World Bank report, they state 'that the main proximate cause of the recession is closure'. Removing, or significantly easing closure is the most important requirement if further decline is to be arrested and economic pressure removed from the Palestinian population. Continued economic hardship will make people easier prey for extremists. We need to persuade Israel that its security will be increased, not hampered, by allowing the Palestinian economy to develop so as to give people a reason to hope for a better future. Where in history is there an example of poverty and economic decline leading to greater security and political moderation?
Let me add to this an argument put by Henry Siegman – a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and a distinguished expert on the Middle East – in the article in the International Herald Tribune today, which I strongly recommend to all Members of this House. Mr Siegman wrote as follows: 'policies which reinforce the despair of Palestinians by killing their hope for an end to the occupation will inevitably fuel escalating violence'.
We must not allow ten years of political and financial investment to be wasted. The European Union has contributed more than EUR 3 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip since 1994. Some may say unfairly that the European Union is only a payer and not a player. I have heard that remark in this Chamber. But what we have done is to provide some grounds for hope – and in recent months to prevent further economic misery and to keep the Palestinian Authority barely alive and in place by providing EUR 108 million in budgetary aid over the last 14 months.
Some people have criticised us for that, although members of the Israeli Government have explicitly supported these efforts in the past. We have worked to maintain the only viable partner in peace that Israel can find and we should continue to support the Palestinian Authority, especially in its fight against terrorism. Although the Palestinian Authority has made mistakes and must correct them, the Palestinian Authority is the only structure that can provide stability in the Palestinian territories. It is the provider of necessary basic services and in the end the guarantor for a minimum of security for both the Palestinians and the Israelis. If the Palestinian Authority is disabled, we will face a situation of anarchy where Hamas and Jihad will no doubt gather increasing support and local extremist committees will compete in an escalation of violence.
It is utterly absurd to suggest that by doing this we are funding terrorists. Our funding actually helps to strengthen the secular administration against the real terrorist organisations. We have put a considerable number of safeguards in place that allow us to monitor the use of our funds. The most important of these is the regular checking and reporting by the International Monetary Fund on the austerity budget agreed by the Palestinian Authority.
I want to make this point very strongly. The European Union has done more than anyone else to promote elections, the fight against corruption, and the rule of law in the Palestinian territories. There is much further to go. But how do we best promote decency, moderation and pluralism? By allowing public services in the Palestinian territories to collapse or by trying to keep them going against the odds and by trying to promote reform? The alternative to the Palestinian Authority is Palestinian anarchy. However long and difficult the road, we should remain committed to supporting moderates, whoever they are and while – thank God – they still exist, on both sides of this tragic feud.
Some commentators have referred to the problems in the Middle East as one of the root causes of terrorism – or they have pointed out that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been and is abused as a cheap excuse for violence or as a wicked justification for committing evil criminal acts. The international community needs to take action now to help resolve this potentially explosive situation. The risk of wider regional spillover is very real and we must use every means to prevent a return to the time when the Palestinian cause was pursued largely through terrorism.
One final point. Today the focus is mainly on Afghanistan. But increasingly it will shift to the Middle East. If we are to solve the problems there, it is no good dwelling in the past, exchanging half-truths, casting blame, arguing about what Mr Arafat should have done at Camp David or what Mr Sharon should not have done on the Holy Mount. What is past is past. Peace will only come if there is a real and brave and lasting commitment to achieving it, looking ahead to a brighter future, ignoring those who try to derail the whole process through terrorist acts of violence and by disproportionate military responses. That is the way progress was made in the past, for example by Mr Rabin. It must be the path that we Europeans advocate for the future.
I am dismayed by the fact that more than 1 000 people, Palestinians, Israelis – among them, as we heard this morning, many women and children – have died since September last year. I am also dismayed at the fact that we have seen the withering away of the aspirations and the hopes that Israelis and Palestinians have pursued since the peace process began ten years ago. We need to focus our efforts on how to prevent the death of the peace process itself. Much of what has been achieved with the help of the international community is now at risk. We want to see two states living side by side, peaceful and prosperous. Today, that prospect seems all too distant.
The number of deaths keeps increasing and so, less importantly, does the record in physical and economic damage. The World Bank has estimated that the Palestinian economy has suffered losses of between USD 155 million and 165 million in physical damage and USD 2.4 billion of gross national income since September last year. The number of Palestinians living below the poverty line on less that USD 2 per day will have risen from 600 000 to between 1.2 million and 1.5 million by the end of 2001. Even worse, the World Bank projects more than 50% of the population may fall below the poverty line by the end of this year. The economic decline and the non-transfer of taxes owed to the Palestinian Authority by Israel have caused a fall in Palestinian revenues from a monthly average of USD 91 million to USD 22 million. Palestinians lost more than 100 000 jobs in Israel and about 66 000 jobs in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as a result of Israel's closure policy.
But the Israeli economy is also suffering, which is not surprising when one considers the extent of economic interchange that was taking place before the current Intifada. According to recent forecasts, the year 2001 is going to be one of the worst years since the 1950s for the Israeli economy. This is mainly caused by the global economic slowdown but also by the current political security crisis. Preliminary figures indicate that one in five Israelis live below the poverty line, absolute numbers are up by 10% compared to last year and the rate of unemployment stood at 9.3% in the third quarter.
What is the European Union's stance, given this dramatic undermining of political and economic stability in the Middle East? We understand Israel's longing for security. We respect the fact that it is the Israeli Government's duty to try to provide safety for its citizens and we also understand Palestinian frustration over the continuous military occupation and the remorseless spread of settlements.
On Monday, as the Minister has just pointed out, the General Affairs Council discussed these issues with Shimon Peres and Nabil Sha'ath. As ever, they were extremely eloquent in what they said. The Council's declaration reaffirms Israel's irrevocable right to live in peace and security within internationally recognised borders and the need for the establishment of a viable and democratic Palestinian state and an end to the occupation of the Palestinian territories. The way chosen by people like the late Prime Minister Rabin was to find a negotiated solution leading to two states with the 1967 line roughly as their shared border, Jerusalem as capital of both, and a solution to the refugee issue acceptable to both Israelis and Palestinians.
Unfortunately forces on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides have been working against this goal. They have set out quite deliberately to destroy the achievements of the Oslo process. It is our collective duty to try to stop them doing so.
The only way of returning to meaningful negotiations is to embark once and for all on the path laid out in the Mitchell report. The Council on Monday strongly encouraged the parties to take the first steps to end this devastating and self-fuelling cycle of violence that we have seen over the last 14 months. I confirm our strong call for the parties to implement the Mitchell report without delay.
It is crucial to apprehend extremists and continue fighting those terrorist groups opposed to the peace process, as the Minister said. The Union must continue to press the Palestinian Authority to take concrete steps to arrest and bring to justice those who commit terrorist acts. This is why the Council on Monday called clearly for the dismantling of the terrorist networks of Hamas and Jihad."@en1
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