The situation in the Middle East
Addendum to the report
| Doc. 12117 Add
| 25 July 2010
1 Addendum
1. In order to complete and update his report, and to
hear the arguments of the two parties, the rapporteur carried out
a fact-finding visit to Israel and the territories under Palestinian
authority from 17 to 20 January 2010.
2. In the course of the visit, he met, on the Palestinian side,
President Mahmoud Abbas, the prime minister, Salam Fayyad, the minister
for foreign affairs, Riyad Al-Malki, the chief negotiator, Saeb
Erekat, the minister for prisoner affairs, Issa Qaraqi, several
members of the Palestinian Legislative Council and a senior Fatah official,
Dr Nabil Shaath.
3. On the Israeli side, the rapporteur met President Shimon Peres,
the deputy prime minister, Dan Meridor, the deputy minister for
foreign affairs, Daniel Ayalon, the Speaker of the Knesset, Reuven
Rivlin, the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, Naomi Turz, and several members
of parliament and political figures.
4. During the visit he also met the ambassadors of certain Council
of Europe member states and the European Union representative, who
gave him their assessments of the situation and their views on recent developments.
5. Finally, the rapporteur had a discussion with the former member
of the Parliamentary Assembly and Rapporteur of the Political Affairs
Committee on the Middle East, Mikhail Margelov, who was in the region
in his role as Chair of the External Relations Committee of the
Council of the Russian Federation.
6. All these discussions and meetings enabled the rapporteur
to improve his knowledge of the situation and afforded him a better
understanding of the positions of the two parties concerned and
a more qualified vision of the possible outcomes.
7. Despite the current impasse in relations between the Palestinians
and the Israelis, there are certain positive factors that still
leave hope for peace. The acceptance by the prime minister, Mr Netanyahu,
of a "two states for two peoples" solution removes all theoretical
obstacles to the creation, alongside Israel, of an independent and
viable Palestinian state, based on the 1967 borders, possibly modified
by negotiated and reciprocal exchanges of territory. Moreover, the
Israeli Government's decision, even if it is partial and excludes East
Jerusalem, to freeze new settlements constitutes a first step, which
it is to be hoped will be followed by others.
8. There are also positive signs on the West Bank, such as the
reduced number of checkpoints, an improvement in people's living
conditions, economic growth and the handover of policing responsibilities
to the Palestinians. All these developments demonstrate the capacity
of Mahmoud Abbas and the Fayyad government to exercise power in
an effective and credible manner.
9. President Obama's formal commitment and continuing American
diplomatic efforts in the area, the 8 December 2009 declaration
of the European Union foreign ministers, the Arab peace initiative
and Russia's return to the scene are all indicative of the international
community's commitment to and growing of the need for determined
action to achieve a solution to the conflict.
10. However, the Palestinian authorities consider that all these
positive developments do not offer sufficient guarantees that negotiations,
once reopened, will not again result in deadlock, which would once
more leave them open to criticism from their own political camp.
They have therefore made a total freeze on settlements a precondition.
They also want the Israeli authorities to accept that the 1967 borders
should be the basis of any negotiations on the future Palestinian
state, and that the status of Jerusalem and refugees' right of return should
also be subjects of negotiation.
11. The Israeli authorities have a different view on all these
points. They are willing to accept that the 1967 borders should
be the reference point for the negotiations, but stress that the
international community and the Palestinian side have already agreed
that the frontiers can be altered by negotiated and reciprocal exchanges of
territory. The Israeli side considers that the return of refugees
is incompatible with the character of the State of Israel, which
was established to give part of that land to the Jewish people.
With regard to Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities, while insisting
that Jerusalem must be the capital of the state of Israel, accept,
however, that this, like all the other issues, must be the subject
of negotiations, with no prejudice or preconditions.
12. While the Palestinian authorities' reservations are understandable,
it must be recognised that the positive developments to which I
have already referred offer favourable conditions for the resumption
of negotiations.
13. The international community must therefore accept its responsibilities.
All possible efforts must be made to overcome the mistrust and secure
the reopening of negotiations. The Quartet must resume its efforts
in parallel with the continuing involvement of the United States.
The European Union must play a more active part. Russia seems to
be more committed to direct participation in the process and its
decision to organise a conference in Moscow following the one in
Annapolis is of great interest. Arab involvement is also a very positive
development that must be encouraged.
14. Time is not on the side of peace. On the contrary, the passage
of time with no progress increases the frustration and despair.
Nor can we ignore the presence of two radical elements – Iran and
Islamic fundamentalism in all the countries of the region – that
support Hamas and oppose any negotiated peace.
15. In addition, the negotiations between Hamas and Fatah have
not so far borne fruit, despite the efforts of the Egyptians and
Mahmoud Abbas' readiness to listen. The dramatic situation in the
Gaza Strip is increasing the frustration and exasperation of the
Palestinian camp and requires the Israeli authorities to reopen
access points and take urgent steps to make people's lives less
onerous.
16. The rapporteur's conclusion is that the current priority is
to secure a resumption of negotiations, which means that each of
the parties must take a positive stance and adopt coherent and disinterested
measures that take into account the other side’s expectations. And
each country, as well as international organisations, including
the Council of Europe, must do all that is necessary for, and can
contribute to, the resumption of negotiations.
Reporting committee: Political
Affairs Committee
Reference to committee: mandate
of the committee
Draft addendum unanimously
approved by the committee on 25 January 2010
Secretariat of the committee:
Mrs Chatzivassiliou, Mr Ary, Mr Chevtchenko, Mrs Sirtori-Milner
