Article by the Ambassador of the State of Palestine H.E. Marwan Toubassi
Against the persistent efforts and pressure applied by Israel on all levels, the European Union officially adopted last Monday, during the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, the French initiative for peace in the Middle East.
This unanimous decision without exceptions forms a powerful political strike on the Netanyahu Government in Israel which, since the beginning of the French initiative was cynical against it and did all within its power to render it useless since its early stages.
The adoption of the initiative by the totality of the EU countries, is the greatest proof that France did not start alone when it announced the initiative; even the United States that were always supporting Israel and are in a dire position as a result of the Israeli government opposing international law, had to be aware of the initiative or at least did not express any serious opposition.
The Foreign Affairs Ministers of 28 EU countries unanimously decided to support the French initiative and the adoption of its main line which is the realisation of an international peace conference before the end of the year after the great recession, resulting from the void created by the Israeli government policy and the indecision of the United States. Israel failed to prevent the announcement of the EU countries which forms a staunch application of the principles of international law and the decisions of the International Community in terms of the Palestinian issue.
These efforts by the Israeli government to prevent such position expresses their real intentions, i.e., opposing peaceful principles in the two state solution, as the Netanyahu government does not believe in real peace and targets any international intervention, so they can manage to apply a colonial illegal settlement plan on all the occupied lands of the State of Palestine and the continuation of their racist politics.
This direction of the EU Foreign Ministers is combined in action with the letter that the presidents of four European Parliament groups addressed to the Israeli President – where the signatories represent over half the members of the European Parliament – and warned against the intention of the Israeli government to pass a law targeting activists and human rights organisations that operate in the occupied lands uncovering crimes of the Israeli occupation.
Palestinian people express their great satisfaction for the decision of the EU Foreign Ministers on the adoption of the French initiative for peace and see in that significant pressure on the Israeli government to conform, to see reality and to be forced to adopt to international law and international legality, terminating the occupation of our country’s territories that continues for seven decades.
We believe that the role of Greece within the EU and the European Parliament does not only express the friendship and the historical relationship that unite us but also a real commitment of the Greek Government and our friends members of the European Parliament that the government is inspired by the principles of human rights, justice and democracy, a commitment to the termination of the occupation, of the illegal settlements and establishment of peace and justice.
The time has come to end this inhuman occupation against our people so we can live in peace and security next to neighbours and all the people of the Middle East, as without that the region and the world as a whole will remain unbalanced and unsteady. The only road for stability and peace in the region is the establishment of the independent Palestinian State within the 4 June 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as capital and the settlement of the issue of the refugees, that were expelled from their homeland in 1948, in accordance with resolution 194.
All this cannot materialise without serious involvement and awareness of the international conference and the forcing of the European and International determination for the preservation of peace in the region and the entire world.