Recent developments in the Middle East: Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel and Israel’s response
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 23 January 2024 (3rd sitting) (see Doc. 15890 and addendum, report of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy,
rapporteur: Mr Piero Fassino). Text adopted
by the Assembly on 23 January 2024 (3rd sitting).
1. The Parliamentary Assembly unequivocally
and in the strongest possible terms condemns the barbaric attack
conducted by Hamas and other militia groups against Israel on 7
October 2023. Not since the Shoah have so many Jews been killed
in one day. The actions of the attackers – who slaughtered and maimed hundreds
of people, raped women and took 239 hostages, including children,
persons with disabilities and the elderly – leave no doubt about
the terrorist nature of Hamas and the other militia groups who took
part in this carnage, and cannot be justified on any grounds whatsoever.
The Assembly expresses its support for Israel in the face of the
most brutal terrorist attack in its history, affirms its right to
self-defence and conveys its deepest sympathy to all those who have
been affected. The Assembly stands firm in its commitment to the
protection of Jewish life and in condemning terrorism, Islamism,
antisemitism and violent extremism in all their forms and manifestations,
wherever they occur.
2. In response to this attack, the Israeli Government launched
a war against Hamas, with the declared dual objective of annihilating
Hamas and liberating the hostages. Israel’s military response has
resulted in the loss of thousands of lives, including of children,
women and the elderly, massive displacement and widespread destruction
of civilian objects and infrastructure in Gaza. The heavy human
toll is not only due to military operations being conducted in densely
populated areas but also to the use of the Palestinian population
as human shields by Hamas, which has built a maze of underground
tunnels and placed offensive weapons in close proximity to civilian
buildings, including schools and hospitals.
3. The Assembly voices its sorrow and dismay at the staggering
number of innocent casualties in the Gaza Strip. The Assembly also
realises that, to many, the displacement of half of Gaza’s population,
caused by the present war, has revived memories of the Nakba.
4. The already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza has been exacerbated
by the insufficient number of convoys transporting humanitarian
aid, food, medicines and fuel reaching those in need for several
weeks, due to the closure of border points. An exception has been
the evacuation through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt of an
estimated 7 000 dual nationals and people in need of urgent medical
care, including newborn babies.
5. The Assembly underlines that, beyond Gaza, the security situation
is tense and volatile in the rest of Israel, the West Bank and East
Jerusalem. Violent demonstrations have erupted and episodes of settler violence
against Palestinians have turned into a worrying pattern, leading
to many deaths. In addition, since 7 October 2023, hundreds of Palestinians
have been arrested on security grounds. In the north, exchanges
of fire with Hezbollah across the border with Lebanon have caused
casualties and displacement on both sides. The risk of an expansion
of the conflict cannot be excluded, given the support that Hamas
and Hezbollah enjoy from some regional actors, as well as other
interested actors beyond the region who are striving to cause disturbances
and further increase tensions in the world. The training, financing
and arming of Hamas as well as the support for Hezbollah and the
Houthis by the Iranian regime play a crucial role in the destabilisation
of the region.
6. On 22 November 2023, with the mediation of Egypt, Qatar and
the United States, an agreement was concluded between Israel and
Hamas which allowed for a four-day pause in the hostilities, during
which Hamas was to free 50 Israeli hostages in exchange for the
liberation of 150 Palestinian detainees, in both cases mainly women
and children. The agreement was extended a number of times; with
a total of 110 hostages released in exchange for 240 detainees.
A number of humanitarian convoys were allowed to enter Gaza. While welcoming
the agreement, the Assembly calls for the immediate launch of similar
initiatives, as greater humanitarian support is necessary to address
the basic needs of the civilian population. The Assembly welcomes
and encourages Cyprus’ initiative to create a sea corridor to transport
humanitarian aid to Gaza.
7. The Assembly is afraid that this war – like many other flare-ups
of violence before it – will not succeed in breaking the spiral
of hatred and is unlikely to achieve durable and sustainable peace
and security in the Middle East. For these to be attained, it is
necessary for Israelis and Palestinians to commit to a two-State solution,
which will enable both peoples to exercise their right to self-determination
and live in dignity. The international community must be unanimous,
resolute and consistent in supporting this course of action. It
is also necessary for political leaders on both sides to refrain
from using inflammatory rhetoric which dehumanises the people on
the other side, denies their rights and impedes any prospect of
future reconciliation.
8. In the light of these considerations, the Assembly:
8.1 calls for a permanent ceasefire
and for a restart of efforts towards a political solution provided
that all hostages are immediately and unconditionally released and
the terrorist organisation Hamas is dismantled;
8.2 calls for rapid, safe and unhindered access to humanitarian
assistance for the population in Gaza;
8.3 calls on all parties to the hostilities to strictly abide
by international law and international humanitarian law, in line
with the principles of distinction, necessity, proportionality and
precaution, and recalls their obligation to respect and protect
humanitarian relief personnel.
9. The Assembly calls for the resumption of peace negotiations
based on a two-State solution, with the involvement of relevant
stakeholders and the support of the international community, to
achieve a just and lasting peace in the region. In this context,
the Assembly:
9.1 recalls the relevant
United Nations Security Council resolutions and the necessity for
all parties to abide by their legal obligations and responsibilities
under international law;
9.2 renews with urgency its call on all parties to refrain
from any unilateral measures that undermine the prospects for the
peace process;
9.3 calls for the urgent and resolute engagement of the Israeli
authorities to prevent settler violence and refrain from the building
of new settlements and the expansion of old ones, home demolitions,
forced evictions and confiscation of land in the occupied territories;
9.4 underlines that the Palestinian Authority is an essential
interlocutor in peace negotiations;
9.5 calls on the Palestinian Authority to commit to preventing
all forms of violence in the territories under its responsibility.
10. Supporting the International Criminal Court as an integral
part of the international rules-based order and as a central institution
in the fight against impunity and the pursuit of justice, which
are essential components of sustainable peace, security and reconciliation,
the Assembly calls on all parties concerned to co-operate with investigations
into the terrorist attack of 7 October 2023 and into alleged crimes
committed in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
11. As regards the role of Council of Europe member States, the
Assembly calls on them to:
11.1 support
Israel in providing specialised assistance to the families of those
who are still held captive and to the hostages who have been liberated,
taking into account the special needs of some groups, including
children;
11.2 step up humanitarian assistance to the civilian population
in Gaza and support relevant initiatives by the United Nations,
its specialised agencies, the International Committee of the Red
Cross and other humanitarian actors;
11.3 designate Hamas as a terrorist organisation and take appropriate
measures to thwart its operational capacity, counteract the support
and financing of Hamas from within member States and from the Islamic
Republic of Iran and the Revolutionary Guards, and counter the spread
of misinformation about the barbaric attack by actors close to the
authoritarian Iranian regime;
11.4 lend their full diplomatic support for a two-State solution
and for creating the preconditions for durable and sustainable peace
in the Middle East.
12. Deeply concerned about the alarming upsurge in antisemitic
incidents across Europe since the beginning of the ongoing war,
the Assembly stresses its rejection of all forms of incitement to
violence and deplores hatred and intolerance in all their forms,
including religious intolerance, racism, xenophobia, antisemitism
and Islamophobia, in Europe and globally. The Assembly refers to
its Resolution 2447 (2022) “Preventing and combating antisemitism
in Europe” and reiterates all its recommendations, including its
call to member States to adopt national strategies and measures
to combat antisemitism. The Assembly affirms its support for the
work of the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary
General of the Council of Europe on antisemitic, anti-Muslim and
other forms of religious intolerance and hate crimes, as well as
that of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI)
on this matter, including the revised General Policy Recommendation
No. 9 on preventing and combating antisemitism from 2021.
13. Having taken note that some Council of Europe member States
have forbidden demonstrations organised by pro-Palestinian groups
in order to avert public disorder, the Assembly calls for the scrupulous implementation
of the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5) and the case
law of the European Court of Human Rights in relation to freedom
of expression and freedom of assembly. It also calls for care and diligence
in dealing with unauthorised demonstrations with a view to avoiding
excesses which would risk fuelling tensions. However, the Assembly
calls for vigilance and constitutional intervention when demonstrations
are used as venues for calls for the extermination of Jews or to
trivialise the Shoah.
14. As regards its own activities, the Assembly:
14.1 encourages the members of the
Knesset and the Palestinian National Council to continue to engage
in the work of the Assembly, in particular in the framework of the
Sub-Committee on the Middle East and the Arab World, using the Assembly’s
unique position of having both an Israeli observer delegation and
a Palestinian partner for democracy delegation;
14.2 will step up its efforts to promote dialogue between the
Knesset, the Palestinian National Council and parliaments of Council
of Europe member States;
14.3 will seek to intensify its relations with parliaments
and institutions in the region;
14.4 should continue to follow the situation in the Middle
East and, in particular, the progress of the Israeli-Palestinian
peace process and the situation of human rights, democracy and the
rule of law in the region.
