EU Anti-Zionist Campaign Unveiled

Bat Ye'or
Hudson New York
11 January '11

A large group of former EU leaders and commissioners, including Javier Solana, sent a letter to EU capitals (included below) and the leaders of EU institutions on December 6th, 2009, urging the Union to take sanctions against Israel, according to Andrew Rettman in the EU Observer (Brussels).[1]

In this letter, the group recalls the adoption by the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union on December 8, 2009 of a set of twelve "Council conclusions on the Middle East peace process", written in italics. The group asked EU foreign ministers at their meeting, scheduled on December 13, 2010, to take concrete measures to implement the December 2009 conclusions as "Europe cannot afford that the application of these policy principles be neglected and delayed yet again."

The letter recalls the Council's conclusion 2:

The European Union will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties. The Council reiterates the EU's readiness to contribute substantially to post-conflict arrangements, aimed at ensuring the sustainability of peace agreements, and will continue the work undertaken on EU contributions on state-building, regional issues, refugees, security and Jerusalem. The Council underlines the need for a reinvigorated Quartet engagement and notes the crucial importance of an active Arab contribution building on the Arab Peace Initiative.

Commenting on this decision, the signatories condemn Israel and wrote:

"In response to these measures [of the Council], we recommend that the EU reiterate its position that it will not recognize any changes to the June 1967 boundaries, and clarify that a Palestinian state should be in sovereign control over territory equivalent to 100% of the territory occupied in 1967, including its capital in East Jerusalem. Only minor and reciprocal amendments as may be agreed between the parties themselves could legitimately be recognised."

They reproduced the third conclusion of the Council which states:

The EU stands ready to further develop its bilateral relations with the Palestinian Authority reflecting shared interests, including in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy. Recalling the Berlin declaration, the Council also reiterates its support for negotiations leading to Palestinian statehood, all efforts and steps to that end and its readiness, when appropriate, to recognise a Palestinian state. It will continue to assist Palestinian state-building, including through its CSDP missions and within the Quartet. The EU fully supports the implementation of the Palestinian Authority's Government Plan "Palestine, Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State" as an important contribution to this end and will work for enhanced international support for this plan.

The signatories then underline "the impressive progress" made by the Palestinian Authority toward the development of the infrastructure of the Palestinian state and add:

"EU support and assistance has been vital to this success. To date, the EU and member states have invested some EUR 8 billion in the peace process, primarily in the form of assistance to the Palestinian Authority, Palestinian institutions, and the development of infrastructure in the OPT. By continuing to be the primary donor to this work, the EU underlines the vital European interest in the establishment of a Palestinian state and the implementation of a two-state solution." (§ 3)

Regarding what the EU calls OPT (occupied Palestinian territories) – that is Jewish villages and towns in Judea and Samaria – the letter strongly emphasizes that: "The EU has stated unequivocally for decades that the settlements in the OPT are illegal, but Israel continues to build them. Like any other state, Israel should be held accountable for its actions. It is the credibility of the EU that is at stake."(§ 4 and 5)

(Read full "EU Anti-Zionist Campaign Unveiled")

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