MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation in the Gaza strip
17.4.2018 - (2018/2663(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Neoklis Sylikiotis, Patrick Le Hyaric, Miguel Urbán Crespo, Martina Anderson, Takis Hadjigeorgiou, Eleonora Forenza, Marie-Christine Vergiat, Marisa Matias, Nikolaos Chountis, Paloma López Bermejo, Sofia Sakorafa, Maria Lidia Senra Rodríguez, Ángela Vallina, Xabier Benito Ziluaga, Matt Carthy, Javier Couso Permuy, Younous Omarjee, Barbara Spinelli, Lola Sánchez Caldentey, Estefanía Torres Martínez, Merja Kyllönen, Miguel Viegas, Marie-Pierre Vieu, Luke Ming Flanagan, João Ferreira, João Pimenta Lopes, Tania González Peñas, Kostadinka Kuneva on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
The European Parliament,
-Having regard to UN General Assembly resolutions 194 (1948), and UN Security Council resolutions 242(1967), 252 (1968), 338 (1972), 476 (1980), 478 (1980), 1860 (2009) and 2334 (2016);
-Having regard to the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949);
-Having regard to the Charter of the United Nations;
- Having regard to the UN human rights conventions that Israel has ratified;
-Having regard to the UN Human Rights Council reports following the Gaza conflicts in 2009, 2012, 2014;
-Having regard to the EU-Israel Association Agreement, and in particular Article 2 thereof;
-Having regard to the statements by the European Union on the situation in Gaza of 6 April 2018;
-Having regard to its previous resolutions on the Middle East;
-Having regard to Rule 135(5) and Rule 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A.whereas Israel used live fire against Palestinian protesters taking part in the Great March of Return on Friday 30 March 2018, on Friday 6 April 2018 and Friday 13 April 2018, resulting in over 30 dead, including children and a journalist using a “PRESS” flak jacket, and 3,476 injured with 105 in serious condition. The protesters posed no threat to life and the killings took place after Israeli leaders threatened through public statement an indiscriminate use of force.
B. whereas Israel has denied the injured access to medical treatment, barring their exit from the Gaza Strip to reach better-equiped hospitals in the West Bank, resulting in limb amputations and further deaths; whereas on April 13, Israel attacks with tear gas the tent set up to secure medical aid for protesters on the border of Jan Yunus;
C. whereas the use of live fire by Israel in Gaza is a routine operating procedure. Since the beginning of 2018, and prior to the latest protests, the UN documented at least 181 incidents of opening of fire at farmers and fishermen, resulting in two fatalities and 13 injuries;
D. whereas the protests seek to raise international awareness about the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, in the hope that international pressure will bring about the end of the closure and the return of Palestinian refugees, in line with adherence to international law and their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly;
E. whereas that Israel’s actions may amount to war crimes; whereas the UN Secretary General António Guterres and several UN human rights organisations have condemned the killings, urged Israel not to use lethal force against protesters and called for an investigation into the Israeli response;
F. whereas 80 percent of Gaza’s population is refugee, enjoying international protection, denied their UN-sanctioned right of return by Israel to the homes and properties where they were expelled in 1948;
G. whereas Gaza is under an illegal blockade, with Israel controlling through military means all entry and exit of people and goods, access to sea and airspace, resulting in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and economic collapse; whereas Gaza has the highest unemployment rate in the world (43.9%), has no potable water and only 4 hours of electricity a day; whereas over 80 percent of Gaza’s population is dependent on foreign aid and the UN says that Gaza will become unlivable by 2020; whereas Israel has hampered reconstruction after the unprecedented devastation of its 2014 assault with only 60 percent of buildings rebuilt and thousands still homeless;
H. whereas Israel has refused several times the entrance to Gaza to Members of the European Parliament, who were on the ground to assess the dimensions of the destruction and the humanitarian situation;
I. whereas improving the living conditions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, together with a revival of the peace process, are key aspects of the efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians; whereas the Israeli war and the blockade of the Gaza Strip since 2006 represent collective punishment in contravention of international humanitarian law;
J. whereas the latest development is a result of a policy pursued by the EU and other international actors, who for decades have granted Israel impunity for its continued and permanent violations of international law and international humanitarian law;
1.Strongly condemns and denounces Israel’s unlawful killings against unarmed Palestinian protesters in Gaza, the violations of international and humanitarian law such as the denial of medical treatment to the injured; calls for an independent investigation on the killings and accountability for the victims; expresses its solidarity with the families of the dead and injured;
2.Recalls that intentionally using lethal force against protesters who do not pose an imminent threat to life or serious injury violates international human rights law and, in the context of occupation, is a serious breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention; Urges the State of Israel to refrain from using live ammunition and lethal force on unarmed protesters;
3. Resolves to send a fact finding mission to Gaza to witness first-hand the compound effect that the persistent denial of human rights and self-determination to the Palestinian people has had on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the prospects for peace and justice in the region;
4. Stresses Palestinians’ right to peaceful protest, as a legitimate exercise of their fundamental rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association under international human rights law;
5. Expresses outrage at the continued and unjustified obstruction by the Israeli authorities of any visit by official bodies of the European Parliament to Gaza; Expresses its deep concern as to the fate and safety of the 2 million Palestinians trapped in Gaza;
6. Demands that the EU and other international actors take action to end attacks against the Palestinian people in violation of international law and international humanitarian law, which have so far been met with impunity;
7. Demands that Israel, as the occupying power, lift the blockade, which contravenes article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibiting collective penalties and prevents the realization of a broad range of human rights; Deplores that, due to the comprehensive blockade and closure, the health sector in Gaza is close to collapse, with hospitals suffering severe shortages of medicines, equipment, and even electricity and generator fuel to keep the lights on;
8. Stresses that the recent events in the Gaza Strip must be seen in the context of Israel's denial of the right of return of Palestinian refugees, over half a century of military occupation and over a decade of unlawful closure and resulting economic deprivation of the Gaza Strip, which amounts to collective punishment under international law and has a devastating impact on Palestinians’ daily lives;
9.Considers that the Israeli attacks on Gaza run counter to the provisions of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, notably those relating to the human rights clause, which is regarded in legal terms as an essential element of the agreement; takes the view that in the light of recent developments, and in accordance with its Article 2, the EU-Israel Association Agreement should be suspended; Calls the EU and its Member States 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;
10. Regards this Israeli offensive as a further blow aimed at destroying the two-state solution perspective and the recognition of the Palestinian State; Emphasises that a genuine solution to the current crisis can only be reached through the establishment alongside Israel of a Palestinian State along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital;
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;
· 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 end arms transfers to Israel given its persistent human rights abuses and stop the export of warfare materials and dual-use technologies to the region in line with EU legislation;
12. Expresses its deep concern for the growing criminalization and political persecution of Palestinian and Israeli human rights defenders , including BDS activists and including EU citizens, conducted by Israeli authorities;
13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the UN Secretary-General, the President of the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian Legislative Council, the Israeli Government and the Knesset.