12/06/2008 Political Affairs and Democracy
Rhodes, 12.06.2008 – At the end of a two-day meeting of the first ever “Tripartite Forum” in Rhodes (Greece), which brought together Israeli and Palestinian parliamentarians with members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), its organiser pledged an “ongoing process” to build mutual confidence.
“This is the first time that distinguished delegations from the two assemblies – Israeli and Palestinian – have formally met under European auspices and decided to spend time together sharing their views,” said Aristotelis Pavlidis (Greece), head of PACE’s Sub-committee on the Middle East, which organised the forum at the invitation of the Greek parliament. “That is a good start, but peace takes time,” he added.
The heads of the two delegations – four members of the Knesset and five members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) – said they appreciated PACE’s support and contribution.
Mr Pavlidis said the sub-committee would continue to try to promote direct contacts between different groups of the population on both sides in the Middle East conflict, especially on issues such as health, employment, education, sport, culture and gender issues, the environment and combating the trafficking of stolen goods.
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