Madam President, Minister, Commissioner, I had just returned from a memorable trip to the Palestinian territories and Israel when I heard the news of the terrible carnage in Jerusalem, followed by a second attack in Haifa. I was horrified by these deliberate and cruel acts of murder and I immediately expressed my deepest sympathy to the families of the victims. I stressed that no cause can in any way justify the killing of innocent people. Those responsible must be arrested, tried and punished. You do not have to be a genius to understand that these latest crimes are disastrous for the Palestinian Authority. During my visit to the region I was able to appreciate the difficulty in containing the exasperation of the people, especially those living in the refugee camps, in the face of the daily violent attacks by the occupying forces, and especially after the irresponsible assassinations of the long-established leaders of the fundamentalist groups. I thought to myself, if the Israeli Government has decided to take revenge for the victims of attacks in its own way, the Palestinian Authority’s remaining small margin for manoeuvre will be greatly reduced. It would then become almost impossible to break the terrible vicious circle of humiliations, attacks, reprisals and revenge which the conflict has been in since the election of Ariel Sharon. Now this has all come true, and how terribly! Israel has wreaked revenge on the fundamentalists in a barrage of fire targeting Arafat. The Palestinian police force, charged with arresting Hamas and Islamic Jihad activists, has itself been bombarded. International Human Rights Day was marked in Hebron by the intolerable image of two children aged three and 13 blown apart by an Israeli missile that missed its suspect target. Who can now doubt Ariel Sharon’s desire to destroy the Palestinian Authority and all that remains of the Oslo process? What is Europe saying in the face of the very real danger of the total annihilation of the Palestinian nation and the overwhelming tidal wave of the fundamentalist reaction that would follow? Do we condemn Sharon’s policy of adopting the worst possible line? Are we encouraging those courageous people in Israel who are calling for the resumption of negotiations? Are we congratulating the Palestinian Authority on its first arrests of fundamentalist activists, at some risk? Do we deplore the death of Palestinian civilians as much as we deplore the death of Israeli civilians? Do we at least repeat our long-standing call for international observers to be sent to the region? However unbelievable it may seem, none of the points I have mentioned appear in the European Union’s press release. On the contrary, the European Union has sent a message to the Palestinian Authority, whilst the press has highlighted the unprecedented severity of its tone. Now the only hope rests on strong political intervention from the international community. At this time, it would be a tragedy if Europe were to turn a blind eye to the situation, and do nothing to stop George Bush from giving the green light to Ariel Sharon. I think of the men and women of Israel and Palestine, who, like our Sakharov prize-winners Mrs Peled-Elhanan and Mr Ghazzawi, are counting on us to support their resistance, their hopes and their work towards a just peace. Their struggle must remind us of our responsibilities. (Applause)

Political group: GUE-NGL