Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, thank you, Europe, for the unanimous stance it adopted at the UN General Assembly. Europe’s assistance will be more important than ever in salvaging the situation. This is the message given to us on Saturday, in Ramallah, by President Arafat, who was visibly relieved to have the impassioned support of his people in the face of Ariel Sharon’s relentless hounding of him. At the same time, however, he was extremely concerned at the increasingly intolerable situation facing his fellow countrymen. After the staggering decision of principle taken by the Israeli cabinet to expel an elected president from his country, and even, if comments made by the number 2 in the Sharon government are to be believed, to physically eliminate him, my group wished, through the intermediary of its chairman and of our colleague Mrs Morgantini, the chairman of the Parliamentary delegation for relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council, to express on the spot what the vast majority of European citizens, including many who are actually critical of the Palestinian Authority, think about this extremely serious precedent. This decision is completely unacceptable and I think that it must give food for thought to anyone who thinks that accommodating Ariel Sharon will encourage him to relax his approach. The main lesson that we can learn from our meetings in Ramallah, and also in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, is that there has never been a greater need for external political intervention in order to create a momentum for negotiations that offers a population on its knees some hope of a worthy and equitable peace. I still remember the ominous words of Commissioner Patten on the eve of the war with Iraq: he basically said, to a barrage of applause from our House, that the one thing he was sure about, was that if this war takes place without a political solution being found for the conflict in the Middle East, we will see an upsurge in terrorism. This is, unfortunately, the situation now facing us. The ‘road map’ was supposed to take up this challenge and is in a doubly strong position to do so. Firstly, this is a general political plan, not one concerned solely with security. Because it makes sense, the Palestinian people will be all the more willing to rally forces to prevent terrorist acts as their daily lives become liveable once again and as their fundamental rights are recognised. Furthermore, the route map has four official godparents, not just one, whose credibility as peacemaker is at its lowest ebb. And yet, four months after launching this initiative, what remains of it? What has become of the ‘road map’, what has happened to the ‘quartet’ and, for that matter, what is Europe doing? At this crucial time, the European Union is unavailable to its subscribers. I would like to believe that the unanimous vote given by the 25 in New York last week is a sign of a new awareness as regards the collective responsibility that must be shouldered in the region, and Mr Solana, due to speak to Parliament on 9 October, will then explain the political strategy, the practical goals to attain and the timetable of the initiatives decided on in Council to prevent the worst case scenario from arising and to give fresh hope to the Middle East. My own conviction is that, of the priorities for launching such an initiative, three warrant particular attention. First of all, we must refuse to give in to Ariel Sharon’s blackmail where President Arafat is concerned. It is one thing to support the idea that reforms are needed in the Palestinian Authority. This debate is already taking place in Palestinian society, and is legitimate and healthy. It is another matter altogether unquestioningly to accept the de facto imprisonment of an elected president in the ruins of his headquarters. What is even worse is the fact that we are bowing down to the veto imposed by the occupying force whilst failing to meet the man seen by his entire people as the living embodiment of Palestine. Significant action is required, in my opinion, to put an end to this terrible ambiguity. Next, we must strongly oppose the wall that is being built. This is not simply a border that is questionable only in its appropriateness. This constitutes a blatant incursion into internationally recognised Palestinian territory. The wall cuts through the University of Aboudis, near Jerusalem. It cuts through the very heart of Bethlehem. It is depriving Palestinian farmers of crucial irrigated land to the north of the West Bank. The wall’s construction has entailed further land confiscations, further expulsions, and to further check points and foreshadows a Palestine in pieces. This is a scandal of such proportions that even President Bush has taken umbrage at the action of his protégé. If the White House itself is threatening to remove US credit guarantees for Israel if Israel continues to forge ahead in this opportunistic way, the European Union must finally be bold enough to state clearly that the association agreements with Israel will only remain in place if there is a change of direction in Ariel Sharon’s policy. Lastly, we must attach priority to all Israeli and Palestinian initiatives to halt the violence and to reopen political dialogue. I am thinking in particular of the coalition for peace, whose prime movers are Yossi Beilin, former Israeli Minister and negotiator of the Oslo agreements and Yasser Abed Rabbo, outgoing Palestinian government Minister, also a steadfast proponent of Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. These two remarkable personalities have furthermore just accepted the invitation I sent them, on behalf of my group, jointly to visit the European Parliament in mid-November and speak to us. I am also thinking of one of the most symbolic of all Palestinian prisoners, Marwan Barghouti, a member of parliament and also someone who is highly committed to the Oslo negotiations and whose prestige, particularly amongst Palestinian youths, could help to persuade the most recent recruits to engage in dialogue rather than in violence. Lastly, Mr President, I am thinking of Yasser Arafat himself, who has just reiterated his determination to work on achieving a ceasefire and not just a truce, if his efforts and those of the prime minister, Abu Mazen, are not blown out of the water by targeted assassinations and house demolitions. The President of the State of Israel, unlike Ariel Sharon, has called for this prospect to be taken extremely seriously. I believe that high-profile initiatives by the European Union in this direction are highly pertinent. This is the express request of my group, but this is above all the dearest wish of supporters of peace on the ground who would like to be able to say as soon as possible, full of hope ‘Europe is back’. (Applause)

Political group: GUE-NGL