The European Parliament,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on the Middle East,

–  having regard to the report drawn up by the Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council following its visit to Palestine in April-May 2007, and to its conclusions,

–  having regard to the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, in particular Resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 425 (1978), 478 (1980), 1373 (2001) and 1397 (2002),

–  having regard to Resolutions 181 (1947), 194 (1948), 3236 (1974) and ES 10/15 (2004) of the UN General Assembly,

–  having regard to the End of Mission Report of May 2007 by Alvaro de Soto, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General to the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the Palestinian Authority,

–  having regard to the decision of the International Court of Justice of 9 July 2004 declaring the wall illegal,

–  having regard to the relaunch of the 2002 Arab peace plan at the Riyadh Summit,

–  having regard to the commemoration on 5 June 2007 of the 1967 conflict and of 40 years of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, of the Golan Heights and of the Shebaa farms,

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

A.  whereas the international community has not succeeded in bringing to an end the 1967 occupation of territories which has lasted for 40 years,

B.  whereas the EU, by aligning itself with the strategy of the White House and using double standards, is wrecking historic opportunities such as the Arab League’s peace plan dating from 2002, the success of the democratic process in Palestine and, more recently, the constitution of a last-chance government of national unity, and hence bears a high degree of responsibility for the crisis in the region, as the End of Mission Report by the UN Special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process clearly shows,

C.  whereas the Government of National Unity, which was formed following the Mecca Agreement of 8 February, was dismissed by President Abbas after the military takeover by Hamas of the Gaza Strip; whereas, at the same time, the Palestinian Authority President declared a state of emergency and installed an emergency government under Prime Minister Fayad,

D.  whereas the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached alarming proportions, and whereas the isolation of the Gaza Strip continues to have tragic consequences at a political and humanitarian level,

E.  whereas the policy of faits accomplis which is causing the occupation, division, annexation and fragmentation of the Palestinian territory to worsen makes the establishment of a Palestinian State impossible, thereby destroying all hopes of peace in the region,

F.  whereas the West Bank and Gaza constitute one political, geographical and economic unit,

G.  having regard to the alarming deterioration in the situation in Lebanon, which is illustrated by the attack on FINUL which left 6 dead, the assassination of parliamentarian Walid Eido and the clashes in the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp,

H.  having regard to the polarisation of positions in Lebanon, particularly as a result of UN Security Council Resolution 1757 of 30 May 2007 establishing a court to try the assassins of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri,

1.  Stresses the serious and direct responsibility of the international community for the worsening of the political and humanitarian situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory as pointed out by the end of mission report of the UN Special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, and calls on the EU to learn from this serious failure without delay by introducing a far-reaching strategic review in strict conformity with international law;

2.  Condemns the 40-year occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as that of the Golan Heights and Shebaa Farms; underlines that the current crisis can only be solved and peace and stability achieved by a withdrawal from the territories occupied since 1967 and a final, just and lasting solution to the Israeli‑Palestinian conflict, which can only be a two-State solution based on the establishment of a Palestinian State within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a comprehensive settlement for all Palestinian refugees on the basis of UN Resolution 194; underlines that this requires the dismantling of the wall and settlements, both illegal under international law, and the liberation of all Palestinian and Arab political prisoners;

3.  Is extremely concerned by recent events in the Gaza Strip; condemns the seizure of military control of the Gaza Strip by Hamas; stresses that the suspension of direct aid and the refusal to recognise the National Unity Government directly contributed to aggravating tensions and weakening Palestinian institutions, notably the security services, which led to the present catastrophic situation, which threatens the very existence of the Palestinian Authority;

4.  Supports the Palestinian Authority and its President, Mahmoud Abbas, in their attempts to confront the political and humanitarian crisis; insists that the political split should be overcome as a matter of urgency in order not to undermine further the prospect of a Palestinian State; calls on the President and on all parties to take all necessary measures to achieve this aim;

5.  Endorses the call by the Executive Committee of the PLO for new elections; calls on the international community to undertake to recognise and abide by the results of the elections;

6.  Is extremely concerned by the humanitarian situation in Gaza; stresses that the isolation of the Gaza Strip will only lead to further chaos and aggravate the humanitarian crisis there; calls for the crossing points to the Gaza Strip to be opened and emergency humanitarian aid deployed; calls on the EU, Israel and Egypt to take all necessary measures to reopen the Rafah border crossing immediately, especially as 4 000 Palestinians are stranded there in appalling conditions;

7.  Deeply deplores and condemns the latest military intervention by the Israeli army in Gaza and Nablus; calls on the Israeli Government to stop immediately the military operations against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank and its illegal policy of extrajudicial killings; endorses the call for an immediate, simultaneous, comprehensive and mutual ceasefire; supports the request of President Abbas for an international observation and protection force, under the aegis of the United Nations, to be deployed along the Green Line, in Gaza and the West Bank, as part of a general strategic policy aimed at relaunching the Peace Process;

8.  Notes the limited results of the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit; notes the transfer by Israel of part of the Palestinian taxes which it had been withholding illegally; calls on Israel to effect unconditional repayment of all the tax and customs revenues owing to the Palestinian Authority; calls on Israel to put an immediate stop to the construction of the wall and the colonies and to all the steps which aim at annexing East Jerusalem, and also calls on Israel to lift the restrictions on the free movement of people and goods and to free significant numbers of Palestinian prisoners, regardless of their political allegiance, primarily political leaders and elected representatives, including Aziz Dweik, President of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and Marwan Barghouti, who was the first elected representative to be imprisoned after the outbreak of the Intifada;

9.  Supports the promise made by President Abbas that when direct aid is resumed it will benefit all Palestinians, with no distinction made between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank; calls on the EU not to place any obstacle in the way of implementation of this promise; underlines that financial support is not sufficient, but that there is also an urgent need for political support for the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority if a viable State is to be achieved within the 1967 borders;

10.  Stresses that there is an urgent need for final-status negotiations; calls on the EU in this connection to contribute to convening an international peace conference on the Middle East without exclusions or preconditions, in order to reach a regional peace agreement based on UN resolutions;

11.  Recalls in this context the valuable contribution of the Arab Peace Initiative, which constitutes a genuine opportunity for comprehensive and lasting peace in the region; invites the Arab countries to play an active role in resolving the current crisis and conflict; invites the Israeli Government to recognise the window of opportunity offered by this initiative; insists nevertheless that this opportunity, if not urgently seized, could be missed entirely, with tragic consequences for all the peoples of the region;

12.  Welcomes the freeing of the journalist Alan Johnston;

13.  Calls for the three Israeli soldiers to be freed immediately;

14.  Calls on the Member States of the European Union to reestablish a genuine dialogue with Syria aimed at achieving a comprehensive settlement of the conflict and guaranteeing regional stability;

15.  Expresses its concern at the danger of increased political divisions in Lebanon and the consequences of this and for peace and stability in the region and calls on all the parties concerned in Lebanon to solve the internal political crisis through dialogue;

16.  Condemns the attack which led to the deaths of 6 soldiers from the UN peacekeeping force on 24 June this year;

17.  Stresses that simply deploying troops under the aegis of the UN in South Lebanon cannot, in the absence of a political process, provide a long-term solution to the crisis and exposes FINUL to serious risk; calls on the Council to present to Parliament its political strategy and the political initiatives it intends to undertake in order to find a lasting solution to the problem; asks that the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy consult Parliament as soon as possible on this issue;

18.  Condemns the attacks and actions undertaken by Fatah Al-Islam and its infiltration of the refugee camps, as a result of which the Palestinian refugees have become the main victims of the clashes; stresses that the emergency situation once again highlights the need to bring about a fair, global settlement for the Palestinian refugees on the basis of United Nations Resolution 194;

19.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the parliaments and governments of Israel, Lebanon and Syria, the Palestinian National Authority, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Russia, the United States of America, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.