EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 76/1

Wednesday 18 February 2009

Humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip

P6_TA(2009)0057

European Parliament resolution of 18 February 2009 on humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip

2010/C 76 E/01

The European Parliament,

having regard to its previous resolutions on Gaza, in particular those of 16 November 2006 on the situation in the Gaza Strip (1), of 11 October 2007 on the humanitarian situation in Gaza (2), of 21 February 2008 on the situation in the Gaza Strip (3) and of 15 January 2009 on the situation in the Gaza Strip (4),

having regard to UN Security Council Resolutions 242 of 22 November 1967 (S/RES/242), 338 of 22 October 1973 (S/RES/338), and 1860 of 8 January 2009 (S/RES/1860),

having regard to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War,

having regard to the Quick Response Plan of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), designed to restore critical services to refugees in Gaza (January-September 2009),

having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the conflict in the Gaza Strip has further aggravated the humanitarian crisis in the area, which has reached an inhuman level, and whereas 88 % of the Gaza population is dependent on food aid,

B. whereas the border crossings in and out of the Gaza Strip have been closed for 18 months, whereas the embargo on the movement of people and goods obstructs the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population and whereas the quantity of goods allowed into the Gaza Strip is insufficient to meet even basic humanitarian needs,

C. whereas key public services in the Gaza Strip are facing serious shortages owing to a lack of basic materials required for their functioning, and whereas the lack of medicines and fuel at hospitals continues to endanger Palestinian lives,

D. whereas UNRWA and WFP (World Food Programme) are playing a crucial role in providing basic goods for the population in the Gaza Strip with the full support of the international community, whereas part of the humanitarian food aid aimed at improving living conditions in the area has perished as a result of obstacles to the delivery chain, and whereas on 3 and 5 February 2009 Hamas confiscated hundreds of food parcels and thousands of blankets destined for Gaza civilians, which were returned following the suspension of all imports of aid by UNRWA into the Gaza Strip,

E. whereas the considerable European Union financial support to the Palestinians has played an important role in the attempt to prevent a humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip, and whereas the Union, in spite of all obstacles, continues to provide humanitarian aid,

F. whereas an International Conference in support of the Palestinian Economy for the Reconstruction of Gaza will be held in Sharm el-Sheikh on 2 March 2009,

1. Recognises the sufferings of the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip and calls for increased, immediate and unhindered humanitarian aid to them, which it is a moral duty to provide and which must be delivered without any conditions and restrictions; calls on the Israeli authorities to allow a continuous and adequate flow of humanitarian aid, which includes all the necessary materials for UNRWA and other UN and international agencies to perform their duties, and which meets the needs of the population;

2. Calls once again for an end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip, in compliance with the Agreement on Movement and Access of 15 November 2005, for the immediate and sustainable reopening of the crossing points for people and goods, and for the prevention of the smuggling of, and illicit trafficking in, arms and ammunition;

3. Calls for a detailed damage assessment in the Gaza Strip and an in-depth evaluation of the needs of the Gaza population which can serve as a basis for reconstruction plans;

4. Calls for the financial, economic and social rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip, which is an essential factor for security in the region; recalls that, in line with the commitments of the international community and the Union, aid should include payments in cash to pay salaries, pensions and allowances for the most vulnerable people and families, and calls on the Israeli authorities not to hinder the bank transfer of money;

5. Believes, inter alia with a view to the International Conference in support of the Palestinian Economy for the Reconstruction of Gaza to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh on 2 March 2009, that any sustainable reconstruction and development policy in the Gaza Strip needs a durable cease-fire supported by the resumption of serious peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians together with a Palestinian national reconciliation process;

6. Stresses again that the Union's financial support to the Palestinians should not be undermined by continuous destruction, which is diminishing support for reconstruction projects amongst the European public;

7. Calls on the Commission to draw up a comprehensive overview and evaluation of the medium- and long-term prospects for reconstruction projects in the Gaza Strip financed by the Union within the framework of PEGASE (Palestinian-European Mechanism for Management of Socio-Economic Aid) and ECHO (Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission) and their budgetary implications; urges other donors to make pledges at the above-mentioned International Conference and to commit to the pledges they made at the donors’ conference in Paris on 17 December 2007;

8. Underlines once again that heading 4 of the EU budget is chronically underfinanced and that pledging additional assistance to Gaza should not be at the expense of other policies; further underlines that additional funds could be mobilised only by using all the means provided for under the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management (5);

9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Quartet Envoy to the Middle East, the President of the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian Legislative Council, the Israeli Government and the Knesset.

(1) OJ C 314 E, 21.12.2006, p. 324.

(2) OJ C 227 E, 4.9.2008, p. 138.

(3) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0064.

(4) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2009)0025.

(5) OJ C 139, 14.6.2006, p. 1.