Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-02-01-Speech-3-068"
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"en.20060201.12.3-068"2
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".
Mr President, my first thoughts go to the members of the mission who are still on the ground. I have received many words of thanks that I should like to share with them: they did an extraordinary job. I also received a great deal of help from the Council, from Mr Marc Otte, who was there in Palestine, and from Jeanette. However, I should like to thank you, in particular, Commissioner. You had to guide me through some difficult decisions.
I will mention two of them. Firstly, the deployment of our mission to Gaza amid hazardous security conditions. From the beginning, we were the only observation mission deployed in Gaza. Next, the delicate decision, Commissioner, to meet the candidates of ‘Change and Reform’, Hamas’ list of candidates. Obviously, we chose the candidates that we were going to meet; they were moderate candidates. I should also like to say, however, that we were the only mission to meet candidates from the ‘Change and Reform’ party and that history proves us right to have done so, since 44% of the Palestinian population voted in favour of them.
I should now like to point out that we are faced with three challenges. The first challenge – which I too find difficult – is to respect the Palestinian people’s choice, which was, as Mr McMillan-Scott said, one in favour of change and not necessarily of radical Islamism. It is not a case of all Palestinians, or indeed of half of the population, having become radical Islamists. They want change both inside and outside Palestine, together with the peace that is a long time coming.
The second challenge, Commissioner, is not to give in to the temptation of unilateralism in the quest for peace. Not since the time of Yitzhak Rabin have we seen any hint of bilateralism in the decisions and negotiations between Israel and Palestine. The withdrawal from Gaza was a unilateral decision. The presence of Hamas in the Palestinian Government today would strengthen that unilateralism and would not lead to peace. I hope that the European Union will work along those lines.
The third challenge consists of making a distinction, irrespective of the circumstances, between the Palestinian Government, which will have to face up to its responsibilities, and the Palestinian people, which cannot be taken hostage on account of the choice it has made. Admittedly, the people made this choice, but it has basic needs that we will have to ensure are met whatever the future holds; otherwise we will be heading for a catastrophe.
To conclude, let me tell you what a Palestinian woman said to me just after the elections. In response to my question: ‘are you not afraid of being governed by Sharia law?’ she said: ‘No, we were not afraid of saying no to the Israelis, who are stronger than us. We were not afraid of saying no to Fatah because it let us down. We will be able to say no to Hamas if it subsequently lets us down’. There you have the entire lesson in parliamentary democracy that the Palestinians have completely understood."@en1
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