Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, my group, the Group, wishes to vigorously promote the future of two independent countries, Israel and Palestine, a future in which these countries live in peace and mutual cooperation. This must be the objective of all of us, and that objective must be achieved soon. In the present frightful situation we strongly condemn all the terror attacks against Israel. Every territory that claims to be independent must be able to ensure that crime and terror do not surge across its borders, threatening its neighbour. The Palestinian leaders have not shown themselves to be capable of this. Nevertheless, the use of excessive military force to destroy civilian areas in the Palestinian territory is totally reprehensible and cannot be justified, even though it is said to be a war against terrorism. Furthermore, the isolation of the Palestinian leadership, and Yasser Arafat in particular, must be broken. Neither should Israeli troops be allowed to prevent wounded and injured Palestinians from getting to hospital. The Red Cross has repeatedly reported that Israeli troops are doing this. If Palestinian extremists believe that they can drive the Israelis into the sea by means of senseless suicide attacks, they are wrong. If the Israelis believe that their country’s future can be secured only through the might of their army, in the long term, they will have made a tragic error. Only peaceful cooperation can ensure the existence and welfare of both countries. As Commissioner Patten said in this House in February: “How many more people have to die before the voices of the moderates who are left in the Palestinian Territories and Israel are actually listened to by the citizens of those communities?” In the same debate Hans-Gert Poettering remarked that it is extremely important for the future of us Europeans that we achieve peace in the Middle East and that we should work effectively and in peace with all the Mediterranean countries. That is absolutely right, but the Israeli and Palestinian leaders know that they also need Europe. We are Israel’s largest trading partner and by far the greatest source of assistance for the Palestinians. If we do not see any sort of harmony or desire for peace in the region, we may alter our policy. We have the option of terminating the Association Agreement with Israel and we have no desire either to finance any operation that we may reasonably suspect is continually breeding terror and endorsing its use against Israel. This morning’s news concerning Israel’s partial withdrawal is encouraging, but obviously it is only really a very partial withdrawal. What Commissioner Patten has just said in a way is totally inconsistent with this news. We are calling for total compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1402. Hopefully, Secretary of State Colin Powell will now work swiftly and resolutely to bring about a cease-fire on both sides and Israel’s complete withdrawal, naturally with the firm and effective support of the Council. The killing must end immediately. Some time in the very immediate future Israel, the Palestinians, the European Union, the United States of America, Russia and the moderate countries in the Middle East that want to see peace in their region must sit around the table and lead the region to peace. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE