Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-11-15-Speech-3-167"
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"en.20061115.14.3-167"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, this is not the first time Parliament has discussed the situation in Gaza, and it is unlikely to be the last. It is the first time, however, that a discussion has revealed the formation of an opinion in this House that will entail a change in the EU’s relations with one of its partner countries, namely Israel.
It is the Israelis’ sovereign right to elect a party such as this, but it is also our sovereign right as Members of this House to condemn such a policy. No social democrat anywhere in the world has anything in common with Mr Liebermann.
The only opportunity for a solution in that region is the renunciation of violence. Dialogue is the only way. The parties must try to look beyond all the violence and all the painful experiences and to talk to each other. There have been some good attempts: let us remember the efforts of Yitzhak Rabin, who was Chief of Staff of the Israeli military forces, but still knew that dialogue is the only way of overcoming war and conflict.
Dialogue is no guarantee of success, but what is certain is that, without it, there is no chance for peace. Thus, we expect Israel, in particular, to give priority to political dialogue rather than further militarisation.
Mr Poettering’s remarks show that we need a discussion across the group divide on what position the EU should take with regard to this development and, above all, to the role of Israel and the Israeli Government in developments in that region.
I have no expectations of terrorist organisations. What do we expect from terrorists? The answer is terror, contempt for mankind, the unspeakable suffering these criminals have caused in the world and continue to cause every day – of which Mr Poettering has just given an example. What expectations does a common system of law such as the EU have of such people? The answer is ‘none’. They are not suitable partners for us. They are not the people on whom we should and can pin our hopes when it comes to building peace.
Yet we should have expectations of a democratic country based on the rule of law. Israel, that wonderful country, the country founded in response to the lowest point in the history of mankind, has a right to our absolute solidarity in the region. Anyone who so much as attempts to threaten this state or call into question its right to exist will face opposition from all Europeans. There are no limits to our solidarity with Israel.
Nevertheless, as a democratic country based on the rule of law, Israel must be open to questions. It must be possible to ask a democracy built on the same fundamental values as ours how something like Beit Hanoun can be described as a technical incident. My expectations of a democratic legal culture are that the parties responsible for this ‘technical incident’ should be held accountable for their actions.
Regrettably, Parliament’s summer recess was interrupted by a technical incident such as this in Cana. I am still left wondering who was responsible for that.
If there is collateral damage from developments in the region, Israel must take care that its legal culture is not among it. It goes without saying that Israel has to defend itself and be able to do so, and that we have to lend the country a hand. Events in Lebanon serve the interests of Israeli security. What Europeans want, for there to be a stable Palestinian state, serves the interests of Israeli security. All our endeavours – be they financial or diplomatic, or now military – serve the interests of Israeli security. What the EU, a common system of law, cannot accept, however, is meeting lawlessness with lawlessness. That is unacceptable.
What is also unacceptable is for us to stay silent when a party that judges citizens by their ethnic origin, as Mr Liebermann’s party does, joins the government of a country such as Israel. That is unacceptable."@en1
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