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Wednesday, 3 December 2008 - Brussels OJ edition

Israel’s participation in Community programmes - Israel’s participation in Community programmes (debate)
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  Bastiaan Belder, on behalf of the IND/DEM Group. (NL) Mr President, I am happy to endorse all efforts on the part of the Council and Commission to intensify relations with the Jewish State of Israel in our mutual interest; deferring the vote is, to my mind, sending them entirely the wrong message.

Despite this, I am facing the President-in-Office of the Council with very mixed feelings, due to the leaking of a Council document to the daily Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz – see last Monday’s edition. Based on the leaked document, I should like to put three questions to him.

Do you agree that the title of that document, ‘An action strategy for peace in the Middle East’, is the way forward? If so, would you force Israel to reopen Palestinian institutions, including Orient House in Jerusalem? Finally, I should like to ask you, if that is what the strategy is like, how do you intend to combine it with improving relations with the newly elected Israeli Government, whatever form that may take? I look forward to your responses.

 
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