Mr President, High Representative, we are being haunted by the chronicle of long-expected and mindless acts of violence in the Middle East. You said that politicians feel a sense of frustration, not to mention cynicism. This translates as melancholy, sadness, distress, fear, anxiety and despair for the people. We could continue by saying that the Israelis certainly have not done what was necessary. Mr Sharon’s strategy consists of destroying Palestinian infrastructures, because he does not believe in the Palestinian State, he does not want a Palestinian State. He has spent his whole life fighting a Palestinian State. We must therefore make him understand that he will only achieve peace and security in his country if there is a Palestinian State. And, to do this, we must enter into a dialogue of political interference in Israel. It is the Israeli people that must be made to understand that they can only have security if there is the Palestinian State. The only possibility of security for Israel is if there is a Palestinian State. As far back as 1972, I defended this thesis and I was almost beaten up during an important meeting at the University of Jerusalem. I know what fighting for this issue means in Israel, but there is no other solution. Similarly, there is no other solution than saying that, in the Palestinian territories, there will be no return of all Palestinians to the State of Israel. The numbers of those returning will be limited, we must have the courage to say this, but a State of Israel is a State of Israel, a Palestinian State is a Palestinian State and the two must remain separate. The price of this is that there will be a European intervention force between the Palestinians, maintaining security in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Jaffa, but which also maintains security in Ramallah, Gaza and in other Palestinian towns. You will say to me ‘But who are we to do this?’ Mr Sakellariou will say ‘Europe means nothing. No one listens to us.’ First of all, we must want to be heard, we must want to speak out, we must want to say ‘No, it is not up to the Americans to run global politics!’ We, the European Union, know that the Middle East conflict is a result of a fundamental European crisis. It is our responsibility, the responsibility of Germany, the responsibility of others who created the situation that we now have in the Middle East. This is why we must not give up. This means that today, we must break down the barriers that are isolating President Arafat. This does not mean that I believe President Arafat is absolved of all responsibility. He is as hypocritical as Mr Sharon. They are two old gentlemen who have been fighting for decades in this region and we know that hypocrisy is one of their common weapons. They know one another very well, they do the same thing. That is not the problem. It is not a question of moral standards. As one speaker said today, there is an elected president – Mr Arafat. There is a second – Mr Sharon. I can do nothing, even though, in any case, I would not have voted for Mr Arafat or for Mr Sharon. Democracy is not what I decide, it is what the majority decides. Nothing can be done. We have to put up with the situation. I shall therefore come back to the point that we must break down the barriers that are isolating Mr Arafat. This is why our group is asking the European Parliament to invite Mr Arafat and Mr Perez to have a discussion with us. They both hold the Nobel Peace Prize, therefore they know what is meant by peace. Well, let us invite two holders of the Nobel Peace Prize to discuss the subject of peace with us here in Strasbourg. And let us put pressure on Mr Perez to allow Mr Arafat to leave. It is scandalous that it is Mr Sharon who decides whether Mr Arafat has the right to take part in a meeting in Brussels or in Strasbourg or wherever. It is up to us to intervene politically to break down the barriers isolating Mr Arafat. We must fund, organise and support all the NGOs that are fighting at civil society level for new relations to be forged and so that everything between the Israelis and Palestinians will not collapse, as there are some wonderful things being done in this region. Those who have often visited Palestine and Israel know this. This is why we have a fundamental responsibility to contradict the key phrase that you hear in Israel, which is ‘there is no other solution’. This is not true; there is always another solution. I know that today, as Mr Patten said, those who speak of peace are not listened to, but if we manage to show that the other side can hear the initiatives we are proposing, then there will be many more initiatives, like those by the soldiers who are saying that they want to defend the security of Israel, but do not want to occupy Palestinian territories and the Palestinians. This is why I hope that Parliament will have the courage to make a determined effort in its attempt to influence the Israeli and Palestinian civil societies and make a strong gesture by inviting Mr Arafat and Mr Peres to Strasbourg, in order to break down the barriers isolating Yasser Arafat. (Applause)

Political group: Verts-ALE