Martina Anderson, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group. – Mr President, the barbaric and insidious Israeli occupation of Palestine is the problem. All other catastrophes are the symptoms. Not content with stealing Palestinian land and building their own illegal settlements, the State of Israel continues to destroy people’s homes on an industrial scale.

Khan al—Ahmar is the most recent in a series of planned village destruction. The Bedouin residents, who valiantly fought the planned destruction for years, have suffered disproportionately because of this apartheid policy. To add insult to injury, the Israeli State plans to forcibly relocate the inhabitants to a site right next to a public rubbish dump. This House likes to think it stands up for political freedom and democracy. You would imagine, then, that all here would condemn – without reservation or equivocation – illegal occupation, illegal settlement construction and illegal destruction of property.

Recently we heard that Israel has prevented Ahed Tamimi from leaving Palestine. Where else would a state restricting the movement of a political opponent be tolerated? You would imagine that the EU High Representative would act decisively and go beyond fluffy words. I won’t hold my breath. Now more than ever, Palestine needs our support. With the Trump Administration actively undermining the two-state solution, the EU more than ever has a role to play in advancing peace and justice in the region. Inaction is acquiescence. Mere rhetoric with no follow—up in these cases of supreme human rights violation means only one charge is viable: rank hypocrisy.