MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation in Palestine
27.9.2011
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck, Alexandra Thein on behalf of the ALDE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0525/2011
B7‑0528/2011
European Parliament resolution on the situation in Palestine
The European Parliament,
– having regard to all previous UN resolutions referring to the situation in Middle East,
– having regard to the conclusions adopted by the EU Foreign affairs Council meeting of the 8 December 2009,
– having regard to the Middle East Quartet statement of 23 September 2011,
– having regard to the IMF staff report prepared for the meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee on Recent Experience and Prospects of the Economy of the West Bank and Gaza of 18 September 2011,
– having regard to the World Bank Economic Monitoring Report to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee on Building the Palestinian State: Sustaining Growth, Institutions, and Service Delivery of 13 April 2011,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas in its Resolution 181 of 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly decided to create two states on the territory of the former Mandate for Palestine;
B. whereas on 23 September 2011 President Mahmoud Abbas submitted to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon the application of Palestine to become a member of the United Nations;
C. whereas Jerusalem is one of the most sensitive and complex issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict;
D. whereas the inalienable right of Palestinians to self-determination and to have their own state is unquestionable, as is the right of Israel to exist within safe borders;
1. Urges the EU and its Member States to have a united position and to play a more active role, also within the Quartet, in the efforts aimed at achieving just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians;
2. Stresses the central role of the Quartet and fully supports the High Representative in her efforts for the Quartet to create a credible perspective for the re-launching of the peace process;
3. Calls for a solution to the conflict based on the two-State solution guaranteeing secure borders for the State of Israel, which should be achieved through direct negotiations;
4. Supports and calls on Member States to be united in supporting the aspiration of the Palestinian people to be represented as a state at the United Nations as a result of negotiations to be concluded during this 66th session of the General Assembly;
5. Calls for Jerusalem to serve as a capital for both Israel and a future Palestinian state as part of peace agreements;
6. Insists that the continuous construction and enlargement of settlements, separation barriers constructed on occupied land, and home demolitions are illegal under international law and constitute an obstacle to peace and a serious threat to a two-state solution;
7. Calls for a cessation of rocket attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip and insists on the need for a permanent truce;
8. Calls on Palestinian authorities to fully recognise the state of Israel;
9. Calls for the immediate resumption of direct and serious peace talks, based on the internationally recognised parameters, as only a negotiated agreement between the two sides can bring lasting peace and security to Israelis and Palestinians; stresses again that no changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties, should be accepted;
10. 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 governments and parliaments of the Member States, to the UN Secretary General, the Palestinian authorities and the Government and Parliament of Israel, and the members of the Quartet.