European Parliament requests that Palestine be named Observer member of the U.N.
November 22, 2012 Leave a comment
By LUIS MIRANDA | THE REAL AGENDA | NOVEMBER 22, 2012
The full European Parliament (EP) today approved a joint resolution of the major political groups in the House that calls on the twenty-seven members and the international community to support the Palestinian Authority’s request to be member observer at the United Nations (UN).
This new dialogue between the Palestinian Authority and the UN “would be an important step for the visibility, strength and effectiveness of Palestinian claims,” says the text adopted by the EP.
The EP urges, as on previous occasions, the EU governments and the EU High Representative, Catherine Ashton, to “play a more active political role in efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”
In this regard, the EP supports diplomatic efforts to ”create a credible prospect for the resumption of the peace process.” The Parliament, agreeing with Ashton, was in favor of the two-state solution based on the 1967 borders and Jerusalem as the capital of both.
This would be achieved, according to the text, “a State of Israel and an independent Palestinian state, democratic and viable Palestinian state coexisting in peace and security.”
Furthermore, the EP reiterated their call for the end of the blockade on the Gaza Strip through an “effective control mechanism to prevent arms smuggling
into Gaza, in recognition of the legitimate security needs of Israel.”
The document also asked “to take measures for the reconstruction and economic recovery of Gaza.”
After eight days of bombing, in which the Israeli military offensive in Gaza caused 163 dead and 1,225 wounded, while on the Israeli side five people
died and fifty were injured by the impact of projectiles fired from Gaza, the Egyptian Minister Foreign Mohamed Kamel Amr, announced a ceasefire on Wednesday. EP members welcomed the ceasefire and called for its full implementation.
Egypt will be the guarantor of compliance with the ceasefire agreement and will assess any comments submitted by the parties in this regard.
The EP expressly supported the resolution “the mediation efforts of Egypt and other agents for a quick ceasefire and lasting.”
The resolution was supported by European Conservatives, Social Democrats, Liberals and Greens. Only progressive and progressive left groups abstained from voting.
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