Birmingham Yardley Liberal Democrats

Pressure needed on Israel to restart peace process - Liz Lynne MEP

Much of Gaza is still in ruins because of the blockade on cement enforced by Israel. Liz Lynne believes pressure must be stepped up on Israel to end needless suffering.

Liberal Democrat MEP Liz Lynne has called for pressure on the Israeli government to be stepped up to restart the stalled Middle East peace process and end the suffering of civilians.

The West Midland region's MEP's comments came in a speech to a meeting of the Justice for Palestinians West Midlands held in Leamington Spa on Friday November 20th.

Liz Lynne argued that more can and must be done to resolve the desperate plight of the Palestinian people in Gaza and the occupied territories and to promote a sustainable peace based on two sovereign states.

A long time campaigner on human rights issues, Liz is a member of the Delegation for Relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council in the European Parliament. Liz has repeatedly called for an end to the Gaza blockade and the disproportionate use of violence by Israeli troops against the Palestinians earlier this year. She has also condemned the firing of rockets on Israeli civilians from inside Gaza and urged Hamas to renounce violence and rejoin constitutional politics within the Palestinian territories.

Liz Lynne said: "The continued injustice in Israel is a touchstone issue for millions throughout the world. The international community has to do more to end the plight of the Palestinians which international terrorists use as an excuse for their crimes.

"European countries and the Obama administration must step up pressure on Israel to restart the peace process. Gaza has dropped off the news agenda, but the horrendous suffering continues. Very few repairs have been made to buildings and water supplies because of the ban on construction materials, people are living in abject poverty. The Goldstone Report on the military invasion of Gaza uncovered credible allegations of war crimes, these must be investigated, not just swept under the carpet."

Liz was invited to speak at the meeting after responding to a letter sent by the Group about the EU-Israel Association agreement. Liz reiterated her concerns about the proposed upgrade of this trade agreement with Israel . She said: "Renewed co-operation between the EU and Israel should be suspended until Israel recognises its obligations under international law. Although the vote on this Agreement has been delayed, I think there should be no further talk of co-operation until improvements are made.

"The European Union has contributed billions of Euros to help the Palestinian people, both in emergency humanitarian situations and to help build a structured and stable society in the Occupied Territories . Still, as Israel 's largest trading partner, I believe there is a larger role for the EU, and specifically the European Parliament, to play in promoting diplomatic peace negotiations.

Some members of the Justice for Palestinians Group who had recently returned from the West Bank shared their experiences of the situation they had found on the ground.

After the meeting Liz added: "It is essential that Groups such as this continue their work and report their experiences so that we can understand how this conflict is affecting ordinary people stuck in the middle of decades of violence. Peaceful lobbying is important and I gave the group some advice on how to get their message across to key figures in the EU. I hope to continue to work closely with the Justice for Palestinians West Midlands Group and hope that one day, there will be justice for the Palestinian people."

ENDS

Note to editors:

The EU-Israel Association Agreement is a commitment to establishing a partnership between the EU and Israel for close political, trade and investment relations together with economic, social, financial, civil scientific, technological and cultural cooperation. Israel has applied to upgrade and extend this Agreement, but negotiations were postponed following the invasion of Gaza in December 2008.

The Goldstone Report was a UN sponsored investigation of Israel 's conduct during the invasion of Gaza in 2008 by South African judge Richard Goldstone. The US Congress has voted to in effect bury the report.

Members of the Justice for Palestinians West Midlands Group are both Jews and non-Jews. The Group campaigns peacefully for an end to the Israel/Palestine conflict and views the EU as an important actor in this process.

In 2008, Liz Lynne MEP co-authored a Written Declaration in the European Parliament on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza : http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+WDECL+P6-DCL-2008-0047+0+DOC+WORD+V0//EN&language=EN