On the current political situation in Israel/Palestine

EGP Resolution adopted at the 28th EGP Council in Antwerp, 18-20 May 2018

Introduction: to address the recent killings of demonstrators in Palestine, to condemn the increasing destabilization of the region through the actions of the Trump administration, and others, and to insist the EU do what it can to promote a peaceful resolution of the conflict

• Condemns the killing of 60 Palestinian protestors in the past week;
• Condemns the reckless decision of the United States government to relocate their embassy to the contested city of Jerusalem;
• Deplores the dangerous increase in violence on the Israel/Syria border;
• Recognises the right of all people to peaceably assemble and to engage in expressions of their political beliefs, where such actions do not harm others;
• Notes that Palestinian protests have taken place on Al-Nakba day (15 May) each year for 70 years, to mark the displacement of Palestinians due to the Israeli declaration of independence on 15 May 1948.
• Acknowledges that the only way to a lasting peace is for all participants in the conflict to commit to a negotiated and mutual agreement that protects the basic rights of all people in the region;
• Accepts the principle of proportionality in military responses is an ethical as well as a legal obligation;
• Notes that lasting peace in the region will require negotiated outcomes that respect the right of both Israel as well as Palestine to exist as democratic and sovereign states, and the Palestinian peoples to a home of their own, and that existing models can offer instruction and precedent in this regard;
• Notes that the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied parts of the West Bank and East-Jerusalem and the lasting denial of Israel’s right to exist by the Palestinian authorities and several representatives and government officials of Israel’s’ neighbouring countries create a permanent stumbling block to any peaceful solution
• Regrets the systematic and widespread violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people

Therefore, the European Green Party:

1. Condemns the recent killing of protestors and calls on the governments of Israel to adhere to the principle of proportionality and to cease the use of lethal force on unarmed protesters; demands an end of Hamas' strategy of escalating the protests which is a serious obstacle for bringing all parties back to the negotiation table;
2. Condemns the veto of the United States in the United Nations Security Council against an independent investigation of the events on May 14th; calls for such an investigation to be opened immediately; calls for an investigation by the International Criminal Court, which is already conducting a preliminary investigation;
3. We call upon the Israeli and Egyptian authorities to cease all blockades to access of support in the Gaza strip according to the cease-fire agreement;
4. Condemns the moving of the embassy of the United States to Jerusalem as provocative, destabilizing and unacceptable acts that threaten peace in the region and emboldened the forces of extremism; calls on all EU member states to strictly adhere to the official EU policy on Jerusalem; stresses that any unilateral decision to move a European embassy would immediately damage the EU’s position on the conflict and would be a breach of international law as adopted by United Nations Security Council Resolution 478(1980);
5. Demands that the European Union convene an emergency meeting of the EU’s foreign Affairs Ministers in Council and condemn the recent deaths and discuss possible EU support on deescalating acts;
6. Insists that the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy seek a meeting with the representative of the government of Israel to condemn recent deaths and urge Israel to recommit to a peaceful resolution of the conflict without further bloodshed;
7. Calls on the government of Israel to cease and reverse the expansion of illegal settlements;
8. Urges both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities to seriously return to the negotiating table with a demanding commitment from the UN and the EU to come to a peaceful solution, and calls on the EU to take an ambitious role in facilitating peace negotiations; recalls the long-standing goal of a two-state solution with Jerusalem as capital of both states and according to the 1967 borders;
9. Expresses support to the NGOs that act as voices for peace and human rights in Israel and Palestine; calls on the EU and EU Member States to enhance their support to them.