The European Parliament on Thursday approved a joint resolution slamming the Israeli government’s latest settlement expansion plans, claiming that if implemented they would “undermine the viability of the two-state solution” by making the possibility of a “the viable, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State untenable.”
MEP’s meeting in plenary session in Strasbourg also condemned, as did the EU Foreign Ministers on Monday, recent statements made by Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal for “rejecting the recognition of the State of Israel and clearly refusing any Israeli presence in Jerusalem”, issuing a call on EU-outlawed Gaza rulers “to recognise Israel’s right to exist”.
The resolution largely echoed the conclusions of the EU Foreign Ministers in agreeing that Israeli settlements in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem “are illegal under international law”, as they issued reiterated calls “for an immediate, complete and permanent freeze on all Israeli settlement construction and expansion activities, and for a stop to further evictions of Palestinian families from their homes and the demolition of Palestinian houses”.
MEPs further called for a reconciliation of the estranged Gaza leadership and the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority and its President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, as the only legitimate “way to reunite Palestinians living in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, who are part of the same Palestinian people”.
Calling on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides “to refrain from any unilateral action which could undermine or hinder peace efforts and the prospects for a negotiated peace agreement”, the cross-party motion expressed “its strong support for the two state solution on the basis of the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as capital of both States”, wording sure to inflame tensions with Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu, who has consistently referred to Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided and eternal capital”.
Israel came in for further criticism from the Parliament as the resolution also condemned the government’s decision “to withhold USD 100 million in Palestinian tax revenues, which undermines the Palestinian Authority’s budget, and calls for the immediate transfer of these revenues; encourages involved parties to settle all outstanding financial disputes under the mediation of the EU”, a move Israel has claimed would be the natural reaction of any western government to redress a debt owed to its electricity company.
Despite lively discussion on the issue and proposed resolution in the debate preceding the vote Wednesday, it was voted through unaltered, after British Conservative Charles Tannock registered his doubt the settlements plans would come to fruition, as he noted “the government did not announce any imminent building work”.
But fierce criticism of Israel prevailed throughout the Parliament, as Danish Green Margrete Auken described the Jewish State’s consistent policies as “an affront to ourselves and also victims of the Holocaust”. Denmark has advocated a ban on labelling settlement produce as a products from Israel.
Portuguese Socialist Democrat Ana Gomes continued the charge, as she condemned Israel settlement expansion plans as “a terrible provocation to the Palestinian Authority”, condemning the Israeli government’s decision to tax products in equal terms. However, she contended, “the EU has to give out a clear message as well to Hamas that Israel is a fact and is there to stay. The recent inflammatory announcements have not helped and do not help the PA people in building their own state next to Israel,” she said, referring to recent inflammatory statements by Gaza rulers, the internationally outlawed Hamas.
Belgian Liberal Annemie Neyts Uyttebroeck “regretted” the Israeli government’s decision to withhold taxes from the PA, alongside its settlement expansion plans, as she slammed the timing of “both of these decisions coming days after the UNGA vote. “It seems to us that by these announcements, the Israeli government is undermining the legitimacy of Mahmoud Abbas and by ricochet, such an undermining of his legitimacy can only reinforce the status of Hamas, which from the point of view of Israel is kind of a paradoxical attitude”.
But Italian MEP Fiorello Provera, from the Europe of freedom and democracy Group (EFD), added “the question of settlements is not the sole cause of the conflict, because the attacks on Israel started over 50 years ago precisely in that area, when we didn’t have any settlements on Palestinian territory”.
British Conservative Geoffrey Van Orden further criticised the EU for reserving condemnation for Israel, advising the institutions to instead think about “what the EU might usefully do”.
“Perhaps act where it has more leverage, realistically that means with the Palestinians,” followed his suggestion. “We’ve given over €5 billion in aid and I wonder what return there is on this investment. They need to come back to the conference table and we should encourage them to do so,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Polish Socialist Marek Siwiec called on “those who condemn the settlements (to) remember there are two sides to the conflict and we must recognise and identify what is to be condemned. If there is dialogue, there won’t be problems, but today there is no dialogue, no conditions for dialogue and the problem is that Israel is exposed to specific attacks with specific arms and its citizens are vulnerable”.
Rounding off the debate, Johannes Cornelis van Baalen sought to redirect attention to the prevalence of Hamas terrorist activity in Gaza, as he concluded their acts of war and terror were “bad for Palestinians”.
“I don’t believe that extra settlements are the right conclusion, the right reaction, but what we should do is say to Hamas, as the European Parliament, stop this terror now, recognise Israel and sit at the table together with the Palestinian Authority. Stop now,” he concluded.
Opening the discussion on behalf of absent EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Cyprus Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Markoulis, whose country holds the EU rotating presidency until the end of the year, warned that the conclusions of the EU foreign affairs Council meeting in Brussels Monday had sent the EU’s clearest signal to date, that settlement building action if implemented “would also have an impact on EU-Israel relations”, currently regulated for under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.