ࡱ> <>;5@ $bjbj22 ..XX /$R7|***:**$*NN  4N0/N(NN` * " hnD  nupdated 15/11/04 Baroness Symons Minister of State Foreign and Commonwealth Office King Charles Street London SW1A 2AH Dear Baroness Symons Palestine: Suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement I am writing to you as the Minister responsible for policies on the Middle East and international security. I am very concerned about the desperate plight of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories as a result of continued Israeli oppression and unjustified violence, and that your attention and that of other European governments in a position to influence matters, is being diverted by recent events. While I welcome Tony Blair taking a personal interest in and seeking to revitalise the peace process there appears to be no meaningful new initiatives and no changes likely to take place soon in Israeli or US policies. Further, there is nothing to indicate that the appointment of a new leadership following the death of Yasser Arafat will make any difference to the Israeli governments policies. Israeli leaders are still saying that they require the PA to stop all terrorist acts as a pre-condition to starting negotiations, ignoring what can only be described as state terrorism by Israel - which causes many times more Palestinian deaths and injuries than are suffered by Israelis, and which is the direct cause of the suicide bombings. The situation for Palestinians in the Occupied Territories has probably never been worse. Israel repeatedly undertakes indiscriminate, excessive and disproportionate use of force in the Occupied Territories, including blanket artillery bombardments, extra-judicial assassinations, shoot-to-kill policies, deliberate targeting of civilians (including children), and unjustified destruction of housing (sometimes with occupants still inside). For example during the vicious 17 day assault in October with tanks, armoured bulldozers and helicopter gunships on densely populated areas of Gaza 110 people were killed and countless others wounded and maimed, including 25 children, many deliberately targeted by Israeli soldiers. In addition 70 Palestinian houses were destroyed and 200 others partially destroyed. Israel is also imposing an economic blockade on the Occupied Territories; large numbers of people in Gaza are close to starvation. It is obvious to any neutral observer that Israels repression of its Palestinian citizens has the effect of sustaining the cycle of violence. Israeli actions make life intolerable for Palestinians and as long as the international community does nothing tangible to change Israeli policies the Palestinians will, understandably, try to defend themselves or hit back with the few resources at their disposal. The fact that these include suicide bombers illustrates the deep feelings of hopelessness, desperation and hatred that Israeli actions cause. I am sure you agree that all this constitutes a continued and increasing threat to peace and stability in the Middle East and the wider world, and that a just solution in Palestine would significantly reduce the factors fomenting anti-Western terrorism. It is important not to forget this in the face of Israels attempts to distract the attention of the international community from what is really happening. It is clear that Prime Minister Sharons proposal to disengage from Gaza is very unlikely to take place considering the bitter opposition to it within Israel, that several more parliamentary votes will be needed to approve it, and the highly unstable state of his government. Even if it did take place, the Israeli government has said that it views withdrawal from Gaza as a kind of exchange for the indefinite retention of vast settlements in the West Bank, which would prevent the creation of a viable Palestinian state and therefore invalidate the current peace process that looks towards a two state solution. I understand that until now the official policy of the EU has been that, while it condemns Israels repressive and violent actions against the Palestinians, economic sanctions would damage the EUs ability to influence Israel and engage in dialogue to revive negotiations towards some kind of resolution. I also understand that this policy is reiterated by the UK Government. But, when all 25 EU Member States voted in the UN General Assembly to support the resolution calling on Israel to comply with the ICJ ruling, Sharons response was to say that he saw no future role for the EU in reviving negotiations for a solution to the crisis. So, surely a change of policy is needed now. Behind the scenes diplomacy, statements expressing deep concern and pleas for restraint have clearly not worked indeed Israeli officials mock the EU for lacking real commitment and never taking decisive action. This, together with Sharons statement that he no longer considers the EU a useful negotiating partner, clearly indicates that the EU must seek to change the attitude of the Israeli Government through other means. In the present circumstances it seems that the Israeli Government will only respond to measures that will have a negative effect on the Israeli electorate, and therefore its popularity or credibility. Imposing trade sanctions, starting with suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, would be a clear signal that the EU is no longer prepared to stand by while the Palestinians are shot at, imprisoned, hounded, evicted and starved out of their land. It would also be a indication of international feeling that, unlike Israeli atrocities in the Occupied Territories, could not easily be concealed from the Israeli electorate. It therefore has a real chance of influencing Israeli public opinion and thereby bring about a change of heart within the leadership. I believe this would be an entirely justifiable course of action. The EU-Israel Association Agreement includes specific conditions regarding respect for international law, emphasising the importance of the principles of the United Nations Charter, in particular compliance with the  HYPERLINK "http://student.cs.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/php/db.php?aid=910" Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Evidently, Israel is in material and deliberate breach of the Agreement. One example of Israels disdain of international law came immediately after the International Court of Justice ruling in July that the security barrier being constructed by Israel is illegal and should be removed, when Prime Minister Sharon said that its construction would continue and of course it has. . Hasnt the time come to stand up for international law and respect for basic human rights and justice? It isnt as if new legislation is needed I am just asking you to press for enforcement of the Agreement that already exists. This would also have a positive effect on relations with Arab and Muslim people and thereby help to reduce the damage done by the illegal military invasion of Iraq. Will you now please do something constructive in this regard and take the lead to get the European Commission to take a more robust and honest approach to relations with Israel? I look forward to your reply. 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