Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-01-19-Speech-4-011"
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"en.20060119.3.4-011"2
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".
Mr President, on 25 January Palestinians will take to the polls to elect their parliament for the first time since 1996. These elections may be six months later than planned, but that is a drop in the ocean for the generations who have longed to exercise their democratic rights.
With a EUR 18.5 million contribution to support the electoral process and the deployment of a skilled observation mission, including an experienced delegation from this House, the EU is showing the Palestinians the path to effective democracy. It is a critical time for stability in the Middle East. It is crucial for the Palestinian Authority to acquire more democratic legitimacy. Only with effective, functioning democratic institutions can the Palestinians lay the foundations for their own state, living in peace with Israel.
Some think legitimacy impossible with a black-listed terrorist organisation competing in the polls, but Hamas has rebranded itself as a change and reform movement and has maintained a state of calm in the run-up to these elections in spite of Tuesday’s killing on the West Bank. It has built popular support, perhaps as much as 40%, by providing numerous social services in an atmosphere of pessimism, anger and joblessness. Muhammad Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction would also be hard pushed to meet our level of legitimacy with the legacy of cronyism and corruption. Only this week the EU suspended EUR 35 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority, and rightly so, because the necessary benchmarks have not been met.
Change and reform are positive words, but they need to be accompanied by concrete deeds. In recent months, Hamas has made gestures towards moderation and its infamous Israel policy was not included in its election manifesto. But if Hamas wants to work with the EU it must be ready to push the peace process forward. That can only happen if it lays down its arms, drops its charter calling for the destruction of Israel and recognises the Jewish State’s right to exist. As Javier Solana has indicated, the taxpayers in the EU will not be in a position to sustain political activity conducted along violent lines.
This is a test for the leadership skills of Ehud Olmert as he takes the helm after Ariel Sharon’s stroke earlier this month. How he manages the challenges to law and order in Gaza, particularly as settlers step up their violent efforts to prevent eviction from the West Bank, will set the tone for the talks we hope will materialise after these elections. But the threat of unrest should not stand in the way of democracy and we welcome Israel’s decision to facilitate voting in East Jerusalem, where Palestinians have been virtually annexed, split from their families by a separation barrier condemned by the International Court of Justice.
Moves by Israel now to comply with international law would be a tremendous confidence-building measure and an important step on the road to stability in the Middle East. With the threat of nuclear developments in Iran hanging over the region, steps must be taken now to demonstrate that respect for international law is alive and well in the Middle East. UN sanctions against Iran will only gain real legitimacy in the region if Israel is made to turn around its defiance of Security Council resolutions, a defiance unmatched by any other nation. Otherwise arguments of double standards will only add fuel to the fire."@en1
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