European Parliament President Martin Schultz on Thursday defended his speech in the Knesset which caused an uproar and saw several members of the Israeli parliament from the Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) party walking out when the EU leader accused Israel of discriminating against Palestinian Arabs in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) when allocating water resources and criticized the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Speaking in his native German language about the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Schulz insisted that “painful concessions” were needed and that the Palestinians, just like the Israelis, had the right to self-determination and justice.
Referring to his visit to Ramallah the day before where he met young Palestinians, Schulz declared: “One of the questions these young people asked me which I found most moving – although I could not check the exact figures – was this: how can it be that an Israeli is allowed to use 70 litres of water per day, but a Palestinian only 17. ”
Schulz, who was said to be offended by the lawmakers who stormed out of the plenum in the middle of his speech, told journalist Florian Eder from German daily Die Welt: ‘’I could not only say things which would please everyone, my job is to present the position of the European Parliament."
"I was surprised and concerned by the harsh reaction, because I have given a speech that was pro-Israel'" Schultz contended, adding that ‘’the extreme right wing party of the settlers" acted shamefully.
The European Parliament president went on to say that the Israeli 'right wing' has received US Secretary of State John Kerry and his work on brokering a peace deal in similar fashion.
EU officials accompanying Schulz were quoted as saying that the President of the EU parliament stressed that “he is a friend of Israel” who came to Jerusalem to "express support for Israel and strengthen it" and that the day before at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem he emphasized his opposition to boycotts of Israel in the EU.
The officials added that Schulz was particularly hurt by remarks made by Israeli Minister of Economy Naftali Bennett, who is the leader of ‘Bayit Yehudi’, when he attacked him on his German citizenship and on the fact that he spoke in German.
Schultz was further offended, according to EU officials, by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks. The Israeli Prime Minister responded from the Knesset plenum to the furor surrounding Schulz’s speech by saying the European Parliament chief had not bothered to check the facts.
The officials explained that Europe had expected Netanyahu to reprimand Bennett and positively emphasize Schulz’s opposition to boycotts. Instead, they said, Netanyahu joined the criticism.
In an attempt to calm the storm, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein told Schulz that he was wrong about what he said about a “siege” on Gaza, explaining that this had angered the Jewish Home members of the Knesset.
"Incorrect facts that are sounded every day are later used as weapons in the delegitimization campaign against Israel, and we must be wary of them," said Edelstein.
He told Schulz that "there is no siege in Gaza. Since Israel withdrew from the region, its citizens are forced to sit in shelters under missile attacks.”
In his address, Schulz declared: ‘’The blockade of the Gaza Strip is your response to attacks on Israeli civilians and I can understand that. But it is stifling all economic development and driving people to despair - despair which in turn is being exploited by extremists. The blockade may in fact undermine, rather than strengthen, Israel's security.
Israel’s President Shimon Peres, who met with Schulz several hours after the incident in the Knesset, reportedly tried to calm things down as well, praising Schulz’s support for Israel and emphasizing the cooperation between the EU and Israel in science and economics.