MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

4.9.2006

to wind up the debate on statements by the Council and Commission
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Francis Wurtz
on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
on the Middle East

B6‑0477/2006

European Parliament resolution on the Middle East

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the UN Security Council resolutions on Lebanon, as well as the statements of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan,

–  having regard to the UN Security Council resolutions on the Middle East conflict,

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

–  having regard to the resolution of the UN Human Rights Council (S-2/1) on 'the grave situation of human rights in Lebanon caused by Israeli military operations',

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

A.  having regard to the new war started by Israel against Lebanon, which led to 34 days of constant bombing and resulted in the deaths of 1 084 civilians in Lebanon and 41 in Israel, thousands of injured, the forced displacement of a quarter of the Lebanese population and the destruction of vital infrastructure, including airports, ports, power stations, as well as a huge oil slick,

B.  whereas, according to the UNDP, these bombings destroyed 15 000 homes and 78 bridges, damaged 630 km of road and will cost Lebanon at least 15 billion dollars,

C.  whereas Israel used shells each of which could contain up to 644 explosive devices, and whereas 100 000 of these did not detonate during the war and are continuing to kill innocent people each day,

D.  whereas according to Amnesty International the Israeli army exercised a disproportionate use of force, a pattern of indiscriminate attacks against the civilian population and a policy of deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure in Lebanon, which amount to war crimes,

E.  having regard, in particular, in this context, to the Qana tragedy and the 'deliberate' bombing – according to the terms used by the UN Secretary-General – of observers and members of the international peacekeeping force,

F.  whereas the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah – which constitutes a clearly unacceptable act – was manifestly no more than a pretext used by the Israeli leadership to launch an attack, which had been planned long in advance, according to Israeli military and media sources themselves,

G.  whereas Hezbollah's decision to reply to the Israeli bombing of Lebanese towns by firing rockets at Israeli towns also constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law amounting to war crimes,

H.  whereas Israel is waging a parallel war against the Palestinian population of Gaza, which started in June and still in progress, causing over 200 deaths; whereas Israeli forces continue making arrests, destroying infrastructure, bombing residential neighbourhoods from the air; whereas 40 democratically elected Palestinian ministers – including Dr Aziz Dweik, Speaker of the Palestinian Council – were kidnapped and imprisoned; whereas the wall continues to be built; whereas Israel exercises a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and continues to deny the transfer to the Palestinians of the customs and tax revenue that it collects for the Palestinian National Authority; whereas the occupation has created a situation which is catastrophic in humanitarian terms and extremely dangerous in political terms,

I.  whereas the Middle East peace process finds itself in a total political and diplomatic deadlock although a just and lasting solution to the Palestine problem is imperative for the resolution of conflicts and the establishment of peace and security in the whole region,

J.  whereas it is therefore essential for the international community in general and for the European Union in particular to demand in the strongest terms a return to the 1967 borders on the part of Israel and a return to the negotiating table on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,

K.  having regard to the US leadership's close involvement in Israel's strategy in the name of the 'war on terrorism', which is enabling it to shirk its obligations under international law and is leading to chaos, as illustrated by the tragic impasse in Iraq,

L.  having regard, in this context, to the extremism to which this strategy is leading, as illustrated by the statement made by the Secretary of State, Mrs Rice, comparing the Lebanese people's suffering to the 'birth pangs of a new Middle East',

M.  having regard to the dignified and courageous views expressed by the United Nations Secretary-General throughout this period,

N.  taking an extremely critical view, however, of the European Council's inability to demand a ceasefire and a return to international legality, despite the calls for such action from the European Parliament's Conference of Presidents and the EU Presidency-in-Office,

O.  having regard, with reference to the present and future position of Lebanon, to the details provided by Kofi Annan about the UNIFIL mission, namely that Hezbollah's disarmament is not covered by the force's mandate but forms part of a political process conducted by the Lebanese themselves, and that the force could be deployed along the Syrian border only if the Lebanese Government so requested, which is not the case,

P.  whereas UNIFIL's mission is therefore primarily to prevent any violation of the cessation of hostilities, which is all the more important given that the Israeli army has already committed a serious violation in Baalbek and threatened to embark on a second round of fighting,

1.  Condemns the Israeli war in Lebanon, the indiscriminate and massive Israeli air strikes against the civilian population such as the one on the village of Qana, and the targeting of United Nations peacekeepers at the United Nations observer post in southern Lebanon as an extremely serious breach of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international humanitarian and human rights law;

2.  Condemns the launching of thousands of rockets on northern Israel by Hezbollah as well as any other violation of the territorial integrity of Israel;

3.  Calls for a comprehensive, impartial and independent investigation into violations of international humanitarian and human rights law; welcomes the related initiative of the Human Rights Council; insists that those persons bearing responsibility for crimes under international law be brought to justice and full reparation be provided to the victims;

4.  Underlines the accountability of Israel for the damage to civil infrastructure; insists that Israel must pay for the costs of reconstruction;

5.  Recalls that there is no military solution to the conflicts in the Middle East and that any solution must include an end to the occupation and a resumption of negotiations on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions;

6.  Takes the view that, to this end, constructive dialogue and negotiations between all relevant parties and actors in the region – without conditions or exclusions – are needed;

7.  Stresses the obligation under international humanitarian law to ensure access and safe passage for displaced persons, humanitarian workers and supplies; calls for the immediate lifting of the air and sea blockade of Lebanon imposed by Israel;

8.  Calls for an exchange of prisoners between Lebanon and Israel, in the framework of the Geneva Conventions, as requested by the Lebanese government; believes that the prisoner issue must include the case of Palestinian prisoners; recalls, in this connection, that Israel is holding, in addition to the parliamentarians and ministers kidnapped this summer, 8 000 Palestinian prisoners (including Marwan Barghouti), who must be released;

9.  Believes that the various crises in the region must be addressed not in isolation or bilaterally, but as a comprehensive effort to bring peace and stability to the region as a whole; calls for an international peace conference on the Middle East and negotiations on an overall regional peace agreement based on the relevant UN Security Council resolutions; and urges the Council and the Member States to urgently take an initiative to this end;

10.  Stresses the need to bring the Middle East peace process back to the top of the international political agenda; calls on the Quartet to revive the implementation of the Roadmap; shares the view of the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that the key to the solution of the Middle East conflicts is the creation of a Palestinian state; insists that it must be a viable state, within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital;

11.  Calls for an immediate end to the war against the Palestinian people and an end to the occupation; calls for an international observation and protection mission to be sent to the 'Green Line' under the aegis of the United Nations as a step towards a de-escalation of the violence;

12.  Reiterates the right of all people in the region to live in security and peace; recalls the plan put forward by the Arab League in 2002, which proposes that all countries in the region normalise their relations with Israel in exchange for Israel returning to its 1967 borders and accepting Security Council resolutions;

13.  Demands an end to work on and the dismantling of the ‘separation wall’ between Israel and Palestine, which will, according to public statements by the Israeli Prime Minister, fix Israel’s new unilateral borders; calls on the European Council to reiterate that the EU will not recognise any change to the pre-1967 borders other than those arrived at by agreement between the parties;

14.  Calls as a matter of urgency for

• ∙an immediate end to Israeli military operations in the Palestinian occupied territories;
• ∙the immediate release of Palestinian ministers and elected parliamentarians;
• ∙the start of a dialogue proposed by Mahmoud Abbas with a view to the release of the 'prisoners of war' detained by Israel and of the Israeli soldier captured by the Palestinians and with a view to ending the firing of missiles from Gaza at Israel;
• ∙an immediate end to the blockade of Gaza, in particular the reopening of the border to Egypt and the guaranteeing of free movement for persons and goods;
• ∙the resumption by Israel of the transfers of Palestinian tax and customs revenues;

15.  Strongly criticises the fact that the European Council failed for a long time during the conflict to express a common position calling for an immediate ceasefire and a return to international legality; deplores the fact that the Council has until now never condemned the war against the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples;

16.  Deplores the fact that the European Union is not assuming the responsibility for the solution to the Middle East conflicts expected by people in the region and in Europe; calls on the Council to remedy this situation, and to adopt and submit to Parliament a political strategy on the Middle East promoting a lasting peace process;

17.  Welcomes the Commission's decisions to allocate emergency funding for support to the victims of the crisis as well as the results of the international donors' conference of 31 August 2006; welcomes the contributions of the European Union and the Member States; calls on the EU to resume the financial cooperation with the Palestinian National Authority;

18.  Calls on the Commission to contribute with special programmes to the solution of the problem of land mines and unexploded ammunitions as well as the environmental consequences of the military escalation, in particular those in the Mediterranean Sea;

19  Invites Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to address the European Parliament;

20.  Decides to send an EP (fact-finding) delegation to Lebanon and Israel in order to monitor the situation;

21.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the parliaments and governments of Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, the Palestinian National Authority, Russia and the United States, and the UN Secretary-General.