Israel's Foreign Minister on Mumbai attacks, settlements
and EU role in Middle East
Hi Harold,
Thought you might like to see this from the Foreign Affairs Committee at
the Euro Parliament. I attended part of it. A closer link to EU it would
seem would have the same effect as tying the Israeli peace process to the
US policy goals, not very useful for Israel. Tzipora did however speak out
about the Palestinian Arab 'refugee camps' that still have third generation
'refugees' and asked how this represented a willingness to change
'realities' for peace.
regards,
xxxxxxxxxxx d
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2008
Press release - Communiqu© de presse - 02.12.2008
Israel's Foreign Minister on Mumbai attacks, settlements and EU role in
Middle East
External relations
Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, spoke to the Foreign Affairs
Committee on Tuesday. She noted that on this day the funerals were being
held for Israelis killed by terrorists in Mumbai. She drew parallels
between those terrorists and Hamas, while defending Israelâ?Ts position on
the West Bank settlements and stressing the sincerity of its commitment to
peace in the Middle East.
While the terrorist attacks in India's financial capital were not directly
connected to the conflict in Gaza and the West Bank, she said, they were a
result of an extreme ideology that needs to be understood, and are a
"challenge that we must face together". Hamas represented an extreme
ideology that â?odeprives us of our rights, an ideology that does not
recognise international lawsâ?, and this makes the peace process between
Israel and the Palestinians more complicated. "The goal of the
international community is to fight these kinds of extremists,â? she said.
The vision of Israel, she continued, was for a peace treaty that can be
translated into reality.
Continuing the Annapolis path essential
Ms Livni stated firmly that continuing negotiations already decided in the
Annapolis agreement was essential to achieving peace, but she warned
against too much intervention from outside: "Eagerness of the international
community can only lead to failure, a failure that nobody can afford -
Israel, Palestine or the international community". It would take time, she
said, and a premature closing of the gaps separating the partners would
only lead to violence.
She was keen to see the EUs relationship with Israel upgraded. There
was, she said, a public perception of Israel as a "state of stagnation that
wants to control the Palestinians?.
A stronger relationship with the EU
would, she said, hopefully change this perception.
MEPs on EU aspirations, West Bank settlements, Palestinian reality
Jana Hybova (EPP-ED, CZ) said the EU felt that it invests a lot in the
Middle East and yet does not get "value for money". She asked Ms Livni
whether more doors should be opened to the EU, so that it can have more
presence and influence.
Klaus Haensch (PES, DE) said expansion of West Bank settlements was
continuing, and that this weakened Israel's position with the EU. The
expansion would make it more difficult to "roll the settlements back", he
said.
For the Greens, Daniel Cohn-Bendit (DE) said he did not feel Israel takes
the Annapolis agreement seriously. He gave an example of Palestinian
children having to walk through an Israeli checkpoint to get to school; a
trip that should take ten minutes takes one and a half hours instead. This
was the "reality on the ground".
Marco Cappato (ALDE, IT) wanted to know why joining the EU was not on
Israel's political agenda, when, he said, 76% of its citizens had indicated
that they were in favour of accession to the EU. "Without an institutional
anchor with the EU, the Annapolis agreement is destined to fail," he argued.
"Expanding settlements is a policy of the past"
Ms Livni stressed that she did not take any satisfaction from knowing that
Palestinian children were having problems going to school. "I'm a human
being and I don't want them to suffer," she said, adding, "Our vision is
not to control the Palestinians or to ignore international law."
It was no longer official policy to extend settlement in the West Bank, she
said: "I can assure you that we are not going to build new settlements, we
are not going to confiscate land or extend settlements", Ms Livni told
MEPs. "These were policies of the past that don't represent the opinions of
the vast majority of Israelis today."
Ms Livni said it would be "destructive" for Israel to follow EU directives,
but a more supportive EU role in the peace process would be welcome and
helpful in serving the interests of both Israel and the Palestinians. With
regard to possible accession to the EU, "we have to start somewhere", she
said. "Upgrading our relationship with the EU is already a very important
step for us."
Parliament will debate an Action Plan on Israels participation in EU
programmes at its plenary session on Wednesday.
02/12/2008
Committee on Foreign Affairs
In the chair : Jacek SARYUSZ-WOLSKI (EPP-ED, PL)
Contact
Karen Lindsay
Press Service
: stagreddifen1@europarl.europa.eu
<mailto:stagreddifen1@europarl.europa.eu>
: (32-2) 28 32728 (BXL)
La version française sera publiée prochainement ici
<http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/030-43337-336-12-4
9-903-20081201IPR43336-01-12-2008-2008-false/default_fr.htm> .
would, she said, hopefully change this perception.
MEPs on EU aspirations, West Bank settlements, Palestinian reality
Jana Hybova (EPP-ED, CZ) said the EU felt that it invests a lot in the
Middle East and yet does not get "value for money". She asked Ms Livni
whether more doors should be opened to the EU, so that it can have more
presence and influence.
Klaus Haensch (PES, DE) said expansion of West Bank settlements was
continuing, and that this weakened Israel's position with the EU. The
expansion would make it more difficult to "roll the settlements back", he
said.
For the Greens, Daniel Cohn-Bendit (DE) said he did not feel Israel takes
the Annapolis agreement seriously. He gave an example of Palestinian
children having to walk through an Israeli checkpoint to get to school; a
trip that should take ten minutes takes one and a half hours instead. This
was the "reality on the ground".
Marco Cappato (ALDE, IT) wanted to know why joining the EU was not on
Israel's political agenda, when, he said, 76% of its citizens had indicated
that they were in favour of accession to the EU. "Without an institutional
anchor with the EU, the Annapolis agreement is destined to fail," he argued.
"Expanding settlements is a policy of the past"
Ms Livni stressed that she did not take any satisfaction from knowing that
Palestinian children were having problems going to school. "I'm a human
being and I don't want them to suffer," she said, adding, "Our vision is
not to control the Palestinians or to ignore international law."
It was no longer official policy to extend settlement in the West Bank, she
said: "I can assure you that we are not going to build new settlements, we
are not going to confiscate land or extend settlements", Ms Livni told
MEPs. "These were policies of the past that don't represent the opinions of
the vast majority of Israelis today."
Ms Livni said it would be "destructive" for Israel to follow EU directives,
but a more supportive EU role in the peace process would be welcome and
helpful in serving the interests of both Israel and the Palestinians. With
regard to possible accession to the EU, "we have to start somewhere", she
said. "Upgrading our relationship with the EU is already a very important
step for us."
Parliament will debate an Action Plan on Israels participation in EU
programmes at its plenary session on Wednesday.
02/12/2008
Committee on Foreign Affairs
In the chair : Jacek SARYUSZ-WOLSKI (EPP-ED, PL)
Contact
Karen Lindsay
Press Service
: stagreddifen1@europarl.europa.eu
<mailto:stagreddifen1@europarl.europa.eu>
: (32-2) 28 32728 (BXL)
La version française sera publiée prochainement ici
<http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/030-43337-336-12-4
9-903-20081201IPR43336-01-12-2008-2008-false/default_fr.htm> .
=============
comment from Prof. E.N.
Livnii does not live in reality, no more than the rest of the 'peace at any price... but there is no peace" left.
Also, NB: Israel is in the midst of an election campaign and livni and all others in the 'expel the Jews' faction are striving to find rhetoric that makes that seem "tough" or "pragmatic."
She's an absolute undertaker, bogad and imbecile.
Also here in usa, as from kadima, labor
Also here in usa, as from kadima, labor
[which again is disintegrating -- but the powers will reconstruct it again]
they;re blabbing about how terrrism is "caused by poverty and frustration"
and we "must understand the root causes" etc, etc, on the way to more "generated crises," disasters, and breaking of eggs for the new world omelette.
EU of course a pack of imperialist stooges and Jew-haters;
EU of course a pack of imperialist stooges and Jew-haters;
same old........peace,
xxxxxxxxx Prof. E.N
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