Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-02-11-Speech-3-129"
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"en.20040211.5.3-129"2
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"Mr President, the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon claims that the construction of his country's controversial wall is to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks. I abhor terrorism and would support the right of any government to take appropriate measures to defend the lives of its citizens. However, the strategy of building this wall is morally wrong, as well as being counter-productive. Like many of Mr Sharon's other counter-terrorist strategies, this fails to tackle the root causes of terrorism. Palestinian land has been confiscated to build the barrier; thousands of Palestinian farmers and traders are cut off from their land and means of economic survival. If the wall is completed, it is estimated that approximately 380 000 Palestinians will be trapped between the wall and Israel's 1967 pre-occupation border, the so-called 'green line'. Furthermore, 160 000 of these would be trapped in 'double walled' ghettos or enclaves. Palestinian communities would be effectively isolated from one another. They would also be cut off, in certain instances, from centres such as Jerusalem, which have been the focus of their economic, social and religious life. Recent proposed modifications will not prevent this.
Furthermore, the restrictions on the freedom of movement of goods and services will intensify the problems for an already weakened Palestinian economy. The consequences of this ill-conceived security strategy on the part of the Israeli Government will provide a fertile breeding ground for creating another generation of terrorists rather than effectively tackling the problem.
The issue of the legality of the wall has now moved centre stage. The refusal of Israel to comply with the resolution adopted at the October General Assembly of the United Nations to stop and reverse the construction of the wall led to the General Assembly decision of 8 December to refer the matter to the International Court of Justice.
Israel should pause and reflect on the consequences of its actions. The wall violates the Fourth Geneva Convention, specifically in the two areas of prohibition of the use of collective punishment and prohibition of annexation, which cannot be abrogated by invoking military necessity. It also violates the Oslo Agreement in respect of the obligation to preserve the territorial integrity of the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the prohibition against restricting freedom of movement. When one also considers the continued refusal by Israel to comply with UN resolutions, it begs the question: 'where does Israel think it is going?'. Does it want to be a pariah state, regarded in the same light as rogue states that are in constant defiance of their international obligations? Or instead, will it work with the international community to create peace in the Middle East?
With progress on the so-called roadmap slow or virtually non-existent, one has to question the merit of imposing such a controversial measure on the Palestinian people. If the Israelis are serious about making real progress in the peace process and putting the 'roadmap' back on track, the building work on the security wall should not only stop, it should be reversed. The Israelis and the Palestinians should instead be working together to take down barriers and to build confidence between the two communities if an agreed settlement is ever to be reached. The recent declaration by Sharon that he plans to dismantle most of the 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip is a step in the right direction. However, building yet more security walls and crippling the already impoverished Palestinian economy serves only to make it more difficult to achieve peace in the Middle East."@en1
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