ISRAEL DENIES ENTRY TO EUROPEAN HUMANITARIAN MISSION

PRESS RELEASE

Luisa Morgantini, President of the delegation of the European Parliament for relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council, strongly protests against the behaviour of the Israeli authorities, for the denied entry to international civil mission.

The denial is showing once more the repressive policy of the israeli government and undermining Israeli democracy as well as regular relations
with EU citizens. The human chain in Jerusalem had to be postponed.

The human chain, an international event that should have taken place on June 28 and 29 in the West Bank and in Jerusalem, has been suspended due to the expulsion of civilians who wanted to enter Israel in order to attend the event, and to subsequent internal problems. The human chain was an event organised by the Israeli-Palestinian Peoples' Peace Campaign, which represents both Palestinian and Israeli peace movements, among them personalities like Sari Nusseibeh, Yaser Abed Rabbo, Hanan Hashrawi, Yossi Beilin, Yossi Sarid, Yael Dayan and the two Sakharov Prize, Nurit Peled and Izzat El Ghazzawi.

The goal of the demonstration was to show that in
both peoples there are majorities that believe in the possibility for peace based on ending the occupation, on two states for two peoples, on Jerusalem as two capitals for two states a just solution for the refugees.

Groups of international civilians who arrived at Ben Gurion airport have been denied entrance by the Israeli border police despite the fact that
the initiative had been previously officially permitted by the authorities. The reason given to explain why entrance was not allowed is that
"participating in the human chain is a non sufficient reason for entering Israel".

Many European citizens were expected to arrive in Israel. Among them, some members of the European parliament and around 350 Italians, organised
by Action for Peace and Peace Roundtable Coalitions, by the Regional Government of Campania, Toscana and Umbria, and by many associations, trade unions, local authorities and political parties.

Lots of them were obliged to take a flight back to Italy immediately, while 15 of them had to spend a night in a locked room, where they received food and water only after twelve hours and only thanks to the repeated requests of the Italian Embassy in Israel.

Diplomatic sources say the Interior Ministry of Israel took the decision to prevent any international citizens from taking part in the human chain as well as in any other initiative. Knesset members and the leaders of Peace Now - which are among the promoters of the human chain - have been informed and have sought a commitment to change this decision.

However, despite this, the Israeli government has refused to change its position. The Israeli authorities bear a very heavy responsibility, by preventing international support to the forces which are trying to stop the occupation which kills all, to break the circle of violence and terror and to reopen the way to dialogue and negotiation.

Luisa Morgantini states that "It is time for a just peace, peace is necessary to both Palestinians and Israelis, it is time for the Israeli army to stop their crimes, to withdraw and end the occupation, it is time for the
palestinian groups who make terror to stop it, it is time for Palestinian People to choose in freedom their leadership and to build a democratic
state. It is time for European Union, Arab Countries, Onu, Russia to make pressure on Israel and the US to implement the international legality, it is time to send international forces, as requested by palestinians and israelis
for peace, to prevent violence and defend the civilian population".

info: 0032-2-2847151 - 0039-348-3921465
email lmorgantini [at] europarl.eu.int