arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

PRESS RELEASE
by LUISA MORGANTINI
Member of the European Parliament

'Israel must reimburse the EU for the damage it has caused in Palestinian
territory.'

'The EU must immediately suspend the Association Agreement with Israel on
the grounds of violation of Article 2, on respect for human rights.'

Luisa Morgantini, MEP and member of the GUE/NGL Group, says she 'welcomes
the swift action taken by the Commission in assessing the damage which
Israeli attacks have caused to Palestinian infrastructure funded by the
European Union', but that it is extremely urgent for the EU to take decisive
action to put a stop to Israeli aggression against Palestinian civilians.

The detailed inventory of damage caused to projects funded by the European
Union and its Member States was made public on Wednesday, 23 January. It
includes damage caused to the airport and the sea port in Gaza, the
Palestinian broadcasting company, the headquarters of the Palestinian
police, two schools, a research laboratory and a water treatment and pumping
plant.

Mrs Morgantini, who, as chairman of the European Parliament Delegation for
relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council had, together with other
Members, called for the assessment to be carried out, says there is an
urgent need for the European Union to take firm stance to stop Sharon and
Israeli policy, and that, as a first step, Israel should reimburse the EU
for the EUR 17 million worth of damage caused.

Mrs Morgantini agrees with Javier Solana's view that it is difficult to see
how destroying civilian infrastructure financed from foreign aid can be
deemed part of the war on terrorism, and wishes to know when the European
Union will decide to take firmer action vis-à-vis the State of Israel with a
view to ensuring respect for international law, particularly UN Resolutions
242 and 338 and the Geneva Convention.

'The repeated violations of international law and the inhuman policy being
pursued by the Sharon government are clearly sufficient grounds for the
immediate suspension of the Association Agreement with Israel, particularly
since Article 2 of the agreement states that "relations between the Parties
(...) shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles',
and Israel has proved that it is not respecting those principles.'

Although the very fact of publishing the inventory of damage caused by
Israel sends out a clear political message, of itself it is not enough and
has to be accompanied by appropriate action. The aim of such action must be
to put a stop to the policy being pursued by Sharon, so as to end the
military occupation and prevent there from being any more victims either on
the Palestinian side or the Israeli side, and also to protect the interests
of European Union taxpayers who have financed infrastructure that has been
destroyed by the Israeli army.

'The European Union has a huge responsibility in this matter, particularly
since everyone is aware that Israel has not implemented the peace process.
The Palestinian Authority is certainly not exempt from blame, but it is
shameful for President Arafat to be kept in a state of effective
imprisonment because of terrorist acts carried out by a few Palestinian
groups. The responsibility must lie principally with the stronger party,
particularly when that party is imposing a military occupation on another
people and, day after day, is killing both women and men and destroying the
environment in which they live. Both Palestinians and Israelis need peace,
but, in the words of the Israeli women in the Coalition for Peace, "the
military occupation is killing everyone: stop the occupation; stop the
reprisals; stop the vendettas".'

For further information, contact Chiara Ascari on 0032 2 2847151.

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