The European Parliament has come out in support of Palestinian elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But it still believes an international conference offers the ultimate solution to the Middle East conflict.
The Parliament, the European Community’s legislative body, based in Strasbourg, France, endorsed both approaches in a resolution adopted at its monthly session last Thursday.
It was introduced by the Socialists and supported by the Social Democratic and Communist blocs.
It called on the Israelis and Palestinians to meet in Cairo to discuss elections in the territories.
At the same time, the E.C. foreign ministers were asked to take “appropriate initiatives” to organize an international conference for Middle East peace under United Nations auspices.
The Palestinian election plan was unveiled by prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir last spring and endorsed by the Israeli Cabinet on May 14. But the Israelis and Palestinians have been unable to agree on terms for the elections.
The fear in Western European circles is that time may be running out for the peace process.
The Parliament, meanwhile, expressed concern “about the aggravation of the repression by the Israeli army in the occupied territories since 1987,” when the Palestinian uprising began.
It reiterated the basic European position that a Middle East settlement must respect the right to security for all states in the region and the right to self-determination for all concerned people “with all that this implies.”
Israel was sharply criticized during the debate by Raymonde Dury, a Belgian deputy of the 181-member Socialist bloc, the largest single faction in the Parliament.
She denounced the “suicidal” Israeli attitude “which refuses until now to recognize the Palestinian existence.”
Dury warned that “by refusing dialogue, Israel condemns any peace process.” She maintained that “the PLO, for its part, has already made several gestures in favor of this dialogue.”
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