Motion for a resolution - B8-0348/2017Motion for a resolution
B8-0348/2017

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on achieving the two-state solution in the Middle East

15.5.2017 - (2016/2998(RSP))

to wind up the debate on the statement by the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
pursuant to Rule 123(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Neoklis Sylikiotis, Patrick Le Hyaric, Martina Anderson, Younous Omarjee, Marie-Christine Vergiat, Josu Juaristi Abaunz, Paloma López Bermejo, Merja Kyllönen, Takis Hadjigeorgiou, Maria Lidia Senra Rodríguez, Ángela Vallina, Marina Albiol Guzmán, Eleonora Forenza, Barbara Spinelli, João Ferreira, João Pimenta Lopes, Miguel Viegas, Sofia Sakorafa, Miguel Urbán Crespo, Rina Ronja Kari, Javier Couso Permuy, Malin Björk, Xabier Benito Ziluaga, Lola Sánchez Caldentey, Estefanía Torres Martínez, Tania González Peñas, Lynn Boylan, Matt Carthy, Liadh Ní Riada, Kostadinka Kuneva, Martina Michels on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group

Procedure : 2016/2998(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
B8-0348/2017
Texts tabled :
B8-0348/2017
Debates :
Texts adopted :

B8‑0348/2017

European Parliament resolution on achieving the two-state solution in the Middle East

(2016/2998(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,

–  having regard to UN General Assembly resolution 194 and UN Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 252 (1968), 338 (1972), 476 (1980), 478 (1980), 1860 (2009), and 2334 (2016),

–  having regard to UN General Assembly resolution 67/19,

–  having regard to the UN human rights conventions to which Israel and Palestine are States Parties,

–  having regard to UN Human Rights Council resolution A/HRC/29/L.35 on ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, adopted on 3 July 2015 with unanimous EU support,

–  having regard to the Charter of the United Nations,

–  having regard to the Fourth Geneva Convention,

–  having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

–  having regard to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by means of UN General Assembly resolution 39/46 of 10 December 1984,

–  having regard to the Oslo Accords (‘Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements’) of 13 September 1993,

–  having regard to the EU-Israel Association Agreement, and in particular Article 2 thereof,

–  having regard to the Council conclusions on the Middle East Peace Process, in particular of 18 January 2016,

–  having regard to May 2017 UNESCO resolution on ‘Occupied Palestine’,

–  having regard to the UN March 2016 report on Israeli Practices towards the Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid,

–  having regard to the statements by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR), Federica Mogherini, on the situation in Israel and Palestine,

–  having regard to Rule 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas, 50 years after the 1967 war, Israel continues to occupy Palestine, in violation of international law and all relevant UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, and whereas the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital has yet to become a full UN member in accordance with the 1948 UN resolution;

B.  whereas Parliament has repeatedly expressed its strong support for the two-state solution, with the State of Israel and an independent, sovereign, free, contiguous and viable Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the 1967 borders, living side by side in peace;

C.  whereas the policies of the Israeli Government are leading to the further erosion and complete destruction of the possibilities for a two-state solution, as laid down by all relevant UN resolutions, as well as relevant EU Council conclusions;

D.  whereas the status of Jerusalem remains a key issue in the Middle East peace process; whereas the EU and the international community have never accepted the unilateral annexation of East Jerusalem by Israel; whereas Palestinians living in East Jerusalem continue to suffer from the lack of a secure legal residency status, the confiscation of their land and systemic discrimination in access to public services, planning and building and access to religious places and sites as a result of Israeli Government policies aimed at changing the demographic makeup of the area;

E.  whereas the Palestinian population in the West Bank, notably in Area C and in East Jerusalem, face blatant violations of their rights, including settler violence, water diversion, severe restrictions on free movement, home demolition and forced evictions; whereas the forcible transfer of residents of an occupied territory constitutes a grave breach of international humanitarian law; whereas planning policy is used as a means to evict Palestinians and to expand settlement outposts;

F.  whereas Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and constitute a major obstacle to peace efforts and have done so for many years; whereas under international law, any third party, including EU Member States, has a duty not to recognise, aid or assist settlements, as well as a duty to effectively oppose them; whereas Israeli settlement products are still imported into EU Member States and thus into the European market under preferential treatment, despite the fact that current EU legislation does not allow the import of such products under the preferential terms of the EU-Israel Association Agreement;

G.  whereas the Arab citizens of Israel make up 20 % of the population of Israel; whereas they suffer various forms of discrimination; whereas Israel’s system of segregation has led to a situation where, according to a recent poll, 42 % of Israelis say they have never met a Palestinian;

H.  whereas 7 000 Palestinian detainees – including 61 women, 300 children and 11 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council – are held in Israeli jails; whereas on 17 April 2017, 1 500 Palestinians political detainees launched an open-ended hunger strike; whereas the imposition of the Force-Feeding Law adopted in 2015 by the Knesset on the hunger strikers would be a violation of their human rights; whereas, since 1967, nearly 800 000 Palestinians have been political prisoners in Israel;

I.  whereas Palestinian unity can play a significant role in bringing about the end of the occupation;

J.  whereas the number of Palestinian refugees, another key issue in the peace process, currently stands at almost 5 million according to the UN Relief and Works Agency, the vast majority of whom are second- or third-generation refugees in the region and worldwide;

K.  whereas the EU-Israel Association Agreement, and in particular Article 2 thereof clearly states that ‘Relations between the Parties […] shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement’;

1.  Stresses that the two-state solution is based on the 1948 United Nations resolution and on the recognition of both states by the international community, and hence urges all EU Member States, the EU institutions and the UN organisations to recognise, in accordance with the UN General Assembly resolution of November 2012, the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, as established in the UN resolutions, living in peace and security side by side with the State of Israel;

2.  Considers that, given the overall situation in the region of the Middle East, an agreed solution between Israel and Palestine would contribute to de-escalation and a peaceful exit from the conflict;

3.  Calls for an end to the 50 year-long Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, thereby paving the way for peace;

4.  Strongly condemns the continued expansion of Israeli settlements, which violate international law, fuel Palestinian resentment and undermine the viability and prospects of the two-state solution; deplores the most recent announcement of 24 January 2017 by the Israeli Government that it intends to build 2 500 settlement units across the West Bank, and that approval has been given for building permits for 566 settlement units in East Jerusalem, which further seriously undermines the prospects for a viable two-state solution; calls on the Israeli authorities to immediately halt and reverse their settlement policy and land confiscations;

5.  Stresses that demolitions of structures, including houses, schools and other vital infrastructure in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, have dramatically increased in frequency in the last 12 months; points out that, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the number of structures demolished during the first month of the 2017 was over 50 % higher than the monthly average of structures targeted in 2016 (91); highlights that all of these demolitions were carried out in Area C and in East Jerusalem on the grounds of an absence of building permits, although these are nearly impossible to obtain for Palestinians;

6.  Calls on the state of Israel to respect fully the equality and rights of the Arab citizens of Israel, and underlines that they could play a significant role in building understanding and cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians and hence positively contribute to the Middle East peace process;

7.  Calls for an immediate end to the illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip, which is a collective punishment against the local population; emphasises that Israel, as the occupying power and under the Fourth Geneva Convention, is the sole and main party responsible for maintaining minimum living conditions for the inhabitants of Gaza;

8.  Considers that the release of all Palestinian political detainees can built confidence and assist the peace process; calls, therefore, for the release of all the detainees, and in particular, members of the Palestinian Legislative Council; calls for full respect for the rights of Palestinian political detainees and prisoners in Israeli jails, including of those on hunger strike;

9.  Underlines its decision to send an ad hoc fact-finding mission in order to assess on the ground the conditions in which the hunger-striking prisoners are being kept, and to assess with them directly the human rights violations they are denouncing;

10.  Recalls that differentiation disincentives Israel’s illegal acquisition of territory and re-affirms the territorial basis of a two-state solution; calls for the EU to ensure that all agreements between the EU and Israel must unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, as reiterated in the Foreign Affairs Council conclusions; calls for the correct implementation of labelling of Israeli settlement products on the EU market, in line with existing EU legislation and the EU’s longstanding policy in this regard;

11.  Believes that the EU should assume its responsibility to become a genuine political player and facilitator in the Middle East peace process, and calls for the EU to:

•  encourage the recognition of Palestine by the Member States, which would contribute to the immediate resumption of direct peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians;

•  implement Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement by freezing the agreement for as long as Israel continues to violate human rights;

•  grant no funding to Israeli entities through Horizon 2020;

•  demand reparations from Israel for the EU-funded projects destroyed during attacks in both Gaza and the West Bank;

•  urges the EU Member States to stop exporting warfare materials and dual-use technologies to the region;

12.  Hopes that the Palestinian political forces will be able to achieve reconciliation and national unity, which will help to bring an end to the occupation;

13.  Expresses outrage at the continued and unjustified obstruction by the Israeli authorities of any visit by official bodies of the European Parliament to Gaza;

14.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process, the parliaments and governments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Knesset, the Palestinian Legislative Council, the President and Government of the State of Palestine, the President and the Government of Israel, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, and the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.