This letter will be sent shortly to all six luxembourgish MEPs: Dear sir / madam, After 37-day Israeli offensive on Gaza, the human and material toll is immense. 1960 Palestinians were killed, including 1,651 civilians and among them 429 children. Nearly 10,000 were wounded. Approximately 500,000 people have been displaced. On the Israeli side, 67 were killed including three civilians. The high number of civilian casualties in this war confronts us with a moral challenge. The basic human values enshrined in international humanitarian law have been completely disregarded. The UN did not hesitate on occasions to speak of war crimes in particular when attacks against schools, hospitals, places of worship and vital infrastructure such as the power station in Gaza. In the words of Dr. Mats Gilbert, a Norwegian surgeon who worked during the first two weeks of the offensive at Al Shifa hospital, what strikes us most in this war is that these acts have not been perpetuated by uncontrolled militias like Boko Haram but by a regular army, that of a state which moreover, it must be underlined, is a close partner of the European Union. What we have seen of the reactions of the institutions of the European Union and European leaders to this war shocked us. Among others, the European Parliament in which you sit passed a resolution on July 17, 2014 which sends Hamas and Israel responsibilities in this war back-to-back. The starting point of the resolution is the affirmation of Israels right to defend itself and condemnation rockets while omitting the fact that Israel occupies the Gaza Strip and that as the occupying power has special responsibilities under international humanitarian law vis-à-vis the population of Gaza. Parliament regrets civilian deaths but refused to specifically assign responsibility for the vast majority of the victims of this conflict to the Israeli attacks. Parliaments resolution is completely taken out of the overall context because it does not mention the siege on the people of Gaza that has lasted for more than 7 years and which constitutes a collective punishment. The crimes that were committed during the last war should be tried. There can be no possible peace between Israelis and Palestinians if Israels impunity continues. Yet again on this subject, the position of the EU is untenable. All European member states sitting at the Council of Human Rights of the United Nations abstained July 23, 2014 during the vote of a resolution to send a commission of inquiry composed of international experts to check for violations international law committed in recent weeks. In addition, the EU clearly puts pressure on the Palestinian Authority so that it does not ratify the Rome Statute. Just read the statement of the Council of the EU from July 23 to understand: “The European Union reiterates its call upon the Palestinian leadership to use constructively its UN status and not to undertake steps which would lead further away from a negotiated solution”. This is totally at odds with the position of the Union which is precisely to promote universal adherence to the International Criminal Court. The occupation and with it, the cycle of violence must stop. Thus, real pressure must be exerted on Israel. In the recent case of the annexation of Crimea, the European Union did not hesitate to adopt sanctions against Russia including the embargo against products originating from Crimea and Sevastopol. We ask you to support any initiative for the EU do the same and in particular an embargo on Israeli settlement products. This is the least that the EU can do. We also ask you to urge your governments to cease any pressure against the Palestinian Authority not ratify the Rome Statute. Sincerely,
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 07:37:46 +0000
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