Mr President, Mr Solana was kind enough to say he had devoted a good deal of time to my report. I should first like to thank him for doing so. I should also like to thank Commissioner Monti for his kind words. I broadly endorse Mr Poettering’s remarks also. They provide an indication of the degree of consensus reached. The title of the report I have been privileged to draft refers to peace and dignity in the Middle East. I chose these two words deliberately, because I think they provide a clear indication of how things stand and what we need to aim at. The Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights Common Security and Defence Policy adopted this report by a broad majority. I am therefore now in a position to have the pleasure of speaking on this text on behalf of the committee, not just as a . It is worth mentioning that the report does enshrine a broad consensus on a number of key issues. This consensus was referred to earlier in the House. Given the short time at my disposal, I shall only refer to a few of the relevant issues. For instance, we all hope the Road Map will remain in force. We are all united in calling on both parties to keep it alive. We are of course united too in our condemnation of terrorism. Nonetheless, we are adamant that the peace process must not be blocked or put in abeyance because of terrorism. The terrorists would actually see this as a success. We call on the Quartet and on the parties concerned to declare the city of Jerusalem a cultural and religious heritage of mankind. We also call for Jerusalem to become a dual capital, at once the capital of the State of Israel and of the future Palestinian State. We hope this will come about at the earliest opportunity. Further, we call for an international presence in the area. We believe that an international force should be dispatched there when the time is right and subject to the consent of both parties. We do of course believe that the State of Israel has the right to defend its citizens and its security. This right must, however, be tempered by the rule of law. The rights of Palestinian citizens must also be taken into account. On the one hand, we invite the Palestinian side to reorganise its security forces and make tangible visible efforts to dismantle terrorist organisations. On the other, we call on the Israeli side to withdraw its army from the autonomous territories. We also call on Israel to put an end to targeted killings, and freeze all settlement activity and the building of the security wall. Many pertinent comments on the latter have been made in the House already. Lastly, I should like to refer to an amendment supported by the rapporteur. This is an amendment designed to deal with a hypothetical situation in which the Road Map was blocked. Of course, we hope this will not happen, as it would have drastic consequences and lead to still greater suffering for Israelis and Palestinians. Nonetheless, alternatives need to be in place, notably the establishment of an international mandate in Palestine under the authority of the Quartet. This would include an international force on the ground. Mr President, I should like to conclude on a strictly personal note. The acts of war perpetrated by Israel against Syria last Sunday are a violation of international law and fly in the face of political reason. It is my earnest desire that they do not lead to something even worse. (Applause)

Political group: PSE