21/01/2010 Political Affairs and Democracy
Summary of the press conference given today, Thursday 21 January 2010, in Jerusalem by Piero Fassino (Italy, SOC), Rapporteur on the Middle East of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), following a four-day visit to the region
21.01.2010 – “We cannot accept an unending conflict in the Middle East. Thanks to President Obama’s initiative, there is a new opportunity for peace. We must not let it go by. This is the reason why we appeal to Israelis and Palestinians to re-start negotiations as soon as possible,” said Piero Fassino (Italy, SOC), Rapporteur on the Middle East of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), speaking today in Jerusalem at the end of a four-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
During his visit, Mr Fassino was in Ramallah where he met President Abu Mazen, Prime Minister Fayyad, Ministers Al Malki and Qaraqi and other prominent Palestinian personalities. In Jerusalem, he was received by President Peres and Deputy Prime Minister Meridor, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Ayalon – who is due to address the Assembly at its plenary session next week – as well as the Speaker of the Knesset Rivlin and other Israeli political leaders.
“In spite of difficulties, there are signals we all agree on, showing that peace is possible,” said Mr Fassino. “The acceptance by Prime Minister Netanyahu of the ‘two state-two people’ solution removes every obstacle to the creation, next to the state of Israel, of an independent Palestinian state, on the basis of the 1967 borders, with possible modifications due to territory swaps to take account of changes in the last 40 years. And the decision of the Israeli government to freeze new settlements in the West Bank, although partial and not including East Jerusalem, represents a first step forward. We hope other progress will follow this decision.”
Mr Fassino underlined there were other positive signals from the West Bank, such as the reduction of checkpoints, the improvement of living conditions, signs of economic growth, and improved control of the Territories by Palestinian police. “These facts prove the capacity of President Abu Mazen, Prime Minister Fayyad and the Palestinian National Authority to efficiently exercise governmental authority,” he added.
The PACE rapporteur stressed that the personal commitment of President Obama and the active presence in the region of Hillary Clinton, Ambassador Mitchell and other representatives of the American administration, the 8 December Declaration by the EU’s Foreign Affairs Minister, the Arab peace initiative and the attention of Russia were all signals from the international community that the time to act is now.
“We do not ignore the difficulties and different viewpoints that remain today between Israelis and Palestinians on some sensitive questions, such as the status of Jerusalem, refugees’ return, the future of settlements and security,” said Mr Fassino. “At the same time, we cannot ignore the critical situation in Gaza. But the only way to solve the most sensitive problems is through dialogue, discussion and negotiation.”
“The experience of recent decades shows that time does not play in favour of peace. On the contrary, frustration and mistrust are growing. We all have the responsibility to work for the re-opening of negotiations so that a stable and secure peace for both peoples can be finally achieved.”
“The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe feels it must contribute to creating a climate of trust and support for the negotiations,” said Mr Fassino, pledging that it would intensify co-operation with Israeli and Palestinian institutions, and with the parliaments of the region’s other states, and promote its “Tripartite Forum”, which brings together members of the Knesset and the Palestinian Legislative Council with members of the Assembly.
Mr Fassino can be contacted via telephone (+39) 06 69532240, fax (+39) 06 69532348 or e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]