WRITTEN QUESTION E-3392/01 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN), Sergio Berlato (UEN),Antonio Mussa (UEN), Mauro Nobilia (UEN)and Franz Turchi (UEN) to the Commission. Obliteration of Israel.
Date: 2001-12-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Internet site, Israel, Palestine question, political geography

C 172 E/50

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.7.2002

In the margin of the Summit during two days in New Delhi and one day in Hyderabad, Commissioner
Lamy had an intense round of contacts with representatives from the Government, Parliament, States
Authorities, NGO’s, media, and think-tanks to discuss how to take forward the Doha Development Agenda
and to ensure that developing countries such as India will benefit. Apart from the possibilities to enhance
EU-India co-operation in the WTO, discussions also covered prospects for solving bilateral trade irritants.

President Prodi’s visit to Mumbai on the 22 November 2001 was brief, but intense and fruitful. President
Prodi had the opportunity to meet with a large spectrum of Mumbai society: businessmen, industry and
finance representatives, Port operators, journalists and the Governor of the Central Bank as well as the
Governor of Maharashtra.

(2002/C 172 E/054)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3392/01

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN), Sergio Berlato (UEN),
Antonio Mussa (UEN), Mauro Nobilia (UEN)
and Franz Turchi (UEN) to the Commission

(7 December 2001)

Subject: Obliteration of Israel

The website of the Palestinian National Authority’s International Press Centre (http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_a/
ipc_a-1/a map/palcit-e.html) contains a map showing Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt but not Israel.
Instead, the territory enclosed within that country’s current borders is labelled ‘Palestine’. The map also fails
to show entire cities, such as Tel Aviv.

In view of this example of virtual computer ‘mystification’, would the Commission answer the following
questions:

1.

Is it aware of the contents of this official website?

2. Does it not consider that the deletion of a country and its population from an official Palestinian
National Authority document constitutes not only a worrying and dangerous attempt to undermine
the Middle East peace process but also an official endorsement of the extreme terrorist views of those
(Bin Laden included) who, in recent years, have worked = and continue to work = for the destruction
of Israel and the triumph of fundamentalist pan-Arabism?

3. What immediate action does it intend to take vis-à-vis the Palestinian National Authority in order to
ensure that the website is modified so as to reflect the actual political and geographical situation, with
a view to preventing the virtual obliteration of Israel (in the eyes of site users) from heralding actual
annihilation?

4. Does it not consider that investigations should be launched immediately into the use of the funding
made available by the EU to the Palestinian National Authority in order to enable books to be
purchased and schooling to be provided, so as to ascertain whether or not what children are taught in
school is based on the false information presented on the website? If it is, should payment of the
funding not be suspended?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(28 January 2002)

The Commission is aware of the Palestinian Authority’s International Press Centre web-site. The web-site
mentioned in the question is currently not accessible. Maps are available on other Palestinian Authority
web-sites such as the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).

The Commission notes that while not naming Israel explicitly on the maps, a clear distinction is made
between Israel and the Palestinian territories. The explanatory text attached to the maps explicitly refers to
the Palestinian territories in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

18.7.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 172 E/51

In this context, the Commission recalls the explicit recognition of Israel by the Palestinian Liberation
Organization (PLO) in 1993, and would point out that the boundaries between Israel and the future
Palestinian state will be determined in future final status negotiations.

The Commission regrets that official maps of several countries in the region, including Syria (showing
parts of Turkey as Syrian territory), Lebanon (in respect of the Sheba’a farms) and Israel (showing the
Golan and East Jerusalem as Israeli territory and referring to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria) are
inconsistent with international law and United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions.

The Commission will continue to monitor the situation.

The Palestinian Authority is in the process of re-writing its education curriculum and is being aided by the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) and several Member States. The
Commission does not provide funding to the Palestinian Authority for the purchase of books.

(2002/C 172 E/055)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3393/01

by Fernando Fernández Martín (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: ACP countries’ access to the information society

(6 December 2001)

At the Third ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly of October 2001 the Commission and the European
Parliament gave a commitment to organise conferences and seminars aimed at enabling ACP countries to
gain access to the information society.

These conferences should provide a forum for discussions and initiatives with a view to promoting realistic
projects, whilst taking account of the information society summits which are to be held in Geneva in 2003
and in Tunis in 2005.

Bearing in mind the emphasis placed on ensuring that ACP countries have access to the information
society, has the Commission drawn up a calendar of conferences and seminars aimed at achieving this vital
goal?

initiatives does the Commission propose in order to facilitate ACP countries’ access to the

What
information society?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(17 January 2002)

The African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the Union’s (ACP-EU)
Joint Parliamentary Assembly’s
Resolution 3228 ‘on the means of access to global communication for ACP countries as a contribution to
sustainable development, and the need for such access’, adopted on 1 November 2001, invites,
in its
paragraph 60 the Commission and the Parliament, to organise preparatory meetings prior to the World
Summit on Information Society-(WSIS). The same resolution,
invites the Joint
Assembly to organise a workshop at its next session in South Africa.

in its paragraph 64,

With regard to the WSIS, the preparatory process is currently being finalised. There will be three
Preparatory conferences (PrepCom), respectively in the summer of 2002, in the spring of 2003 and in the
autumn of 2003. Moreover, there will be regional conferences. The one for Africa will probably be led by
the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

The Community intends, in view of its many competences on the subject, to participate as full member
and play an active role in the preparation of the Summit, be it in the PrepCom or the regional conferences.
However, rather than planning additional events, the Commission will provide its input in the many events
already foreseen.