Subscribing to the remarks and recommendations made
in an article by Mr Henry Siegman, Director of the
U.S./Middle East Project and Professor at the School
of Oriental and African Studies, University of
London, in the IHT of 19/02/07, in a Haaretz leader on 5/02/07, as
well as in an article by Mr Uri Avneri of 17/02/07,
the
Undersigned wish to address the European Union and
the Leaders of the Member Countries in order to
request their contribution to the start of a new
round of negotiations between the Israeli
Government and the Palestinian National Authority.
To the European Union
To the Leaders of European
Countries
In our capacity as individuals and
groups of Jews committed to a lasting peace between
the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, we believe
that:
After the
Hamas victory in the 2006
national elections, the Israeli Government
has refused to recognize the Palestinian
government. The PNA was not consulted
by Sharon when he took the decision to withdraw
from Gaza. Subsequently, Mr Olmert launched
a boycott of the Hamas Government and succeeded
in obtaining support for the boycott at an
international level, refusing at the same
time to negotiate with Mr Abu Mazen. Even today the
Israeli Government continues to stay this course, in
spite of a new and noteworthy event, that is, the
recent Mecca agreement between Hamas and al Fatah
for the formation of a National Unity Government,
facilitated by King Abdullah, which seems to have
attained three goals:
1.
To stop the internecine war among
Palestinians, which, if pursued, would lead
to a blood bath with disastrous effects and to the
sheer impossibility of talking peace in the area
for many years;
2.
To de-link Hamas from Iran, to
whom they had turned for help in the
absence of alternative solutions;
3.
To break the taboo of support to
a Palestinian Government which includes
Hamas, by identifying the National Unity
Government as a legitimate and an
acceptable
counterpart in
negotiations.
For these
reasons it seems that the fundamentals are now in
place in order for the E.U. to steer a more
independent course in the Middle East
relative to its US ally, making the most of the
support coming from Saudi Arabia, on whom the US
depends not only for its oil supplies but also for
tackling the controversy with Iran and handling
the Iraqi quagmire.
The E.U. should therefore immediately
announce an end to the boycott and open a dialogue
with the National Unity Government to resume
negotiations with the Palestinians and the
Israeli Government. Missing this new chance for
peace would mean repeating the tragic mistake of
April 2002, when Saudi Arabia advanced the offer of
a complete end to hostilities between the Arab world
and Israel, in addition to Arab recognition of the
State of Israel, in exchange for a complete
withdrawal >from the Occupied Territories.
Until now, three conditions have been
set to end the boycott:
a.
Hamas ‘recognition of
the existence of the State of Israel
b.
A stop to terrorism
c.
Full recognition of the
agreements signed by the PLO.
However, these conditions
appear totally unilateral, as the
radicalization of Palestinian society which
translated into a vote for Hamas was mainly
motivated by the continuation of the Israeli
Occupation of the territories occupied in 1967, with
its consequent burden of oppression, affliction and
humiliation.
Now the EU and its leaders have
an opportunity to change the preconditions which
have up to now prevented the end of the boycott of
the Palestinian Government and the resumption of
negotiations.
The EU should ask Hamas, as a
preliminary condition ending the boycott,
to spell out their willingness to recognize the
State of Israel when
Israel withdraws
from the Occupied Territories within the 1967
border, abiding by the relevant UN Security
Council Resolutions. Accepting this condition
logically leads to fulfilling the remaining two
conditions, i.e. a stop to terrorism and full
recognition of the agreements signed by the PL.
If this long overdue reciprocal move is not
made, it clearly indicates a desire to maintain
the unjust status quo.
We would like to remind European
leaders that such a stance would find a most solid
raison d’être in the very decision made by
the EU in March 2004, when the Presidents of the
European countries declared unanimously their
opposition to any deviations from the 1967 border
which would not be mutually agreed between the two
parties.
This is the right moment to be
consistent with this 2004 resolution.
Barbara Agostini, Irene Albert, Paolo Amati, Dunia
Astrologo, Marina Astrologo, Annalisa Bemporad,
Andrea Billau, Lina Cabib, Giorgio Canarutto, Paola
Canarutto, Ilan Cohen, Beppe Damascelli, Lucio
Damascelli, Jules Karp, Marina Del Monte, Ester Fano,
Carla Forti, Giorgio Forti, Joan Haim, Dino Levi,
Tamara Levi, Michele Luzzati, Patrizia Mancini,
Miriam Marino, Marina Morpurgo, Ernesto Muggia,
Stefano Sarfati Nahmad, Carla Ortona, Sergio
Ottolenghi, Valeria Ottolenghi, Moni Ovadia, Paola
Sacerdoti, Renata Sarfati, Giorgio Segrè, Danco
Singer, Sergio Sinigaglia, Stefania Sinigaglia,
Susanna Sinigaglia, Ornella Terracini, Claudio
Treves, Virginia Volterra.
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