Luisa Morgantini of EU Parliament: Israeli government must stop considering itself above the law and start respecting it

Date: 04 / 12 / 2008 Time: 18:07
Bethlehem – Ma’an –

The European Parliament (EP) suspended its vote on whether or not to upgrade EU-Israel relations on Wednesday in the wake of increasing unrest around Israeli settlement building policies and the continued Gaza siege.

Vice President of the European Parliament Luisa Morgantini issued a statement about the decision saying "It's time for the Israeli Government to stop considering itself above the law and start respecting it.”

The suspended proposal was submitted by the EU Commission and Council and recommended the completion of a set of guidelines by which Israel would participate in programs set up by the European Community. The vote was scheduled to take place Thursday.

According to Morgantini the vote would have been an important step in the process of upgrading EU-Israel relations. The move, requested by Israeli Minister for Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni, was mildly controversial but looked as though it would move forward.

On Wednesday, however, the majority of European parliamentarians called for a postponement of the vote. Several parties within the EP requested that no date for the vote be set.

Responding to the incident Morgantini had sharp words for the Israeli government concerning what changes would have to occur before the EP would look to moving forward with closer ties.

"Today's vote is an important political message directed not against Israel, but at pushing the Israeli leadership to respect their obligations in order to achieve tangible results from the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, so that they can reach a peaceful solution and the security of the two peoples,” Morgantini said. “It is also a signal to the EU Council and Commission, that they must put pressure on Israel to stop its colonization of the 1967 Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

Morgantini also noted that the vote should be a “sign of hope for the Palestinians, telling them that the European Parliament is not deaf to the suffering of people in Gaza and the West Bank, and that the EP is not only determined to verbally criticize the situation but to take concrete action for the respect of human rights and international law. “

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