NORTH WEST MEP BACKS ACTION ON PALESTINE

A call for the UN Security Council to break the stalemate in the Middle East by recognising an independent Palestinian state has received strong support from North West Euro-MP Chris Davies.

The controversial demand was made this weekend by the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.

He told an audience in London on Saturday that the UN should proclaim the adoption of the two-state solution to the conflict, and declare a position on the key issues of security arrangements, the return of refugees, and the sharing of control of the city of Jerusalem.

The border between the two states should be based on that existing before the 1967 war between Israel, Egypt, Syria and Jordan he proposed.  Palestine would be accepted as a full member of the UN, and a calendar would be set for implementation.

Chris Davies, a member of the European Parliament’s official delegation to Palestine, described the plan as far-reaching and dramatic.

The Liberal Democrat MEP said that direct intervention from the UN could inject a new dynamic into a peace process that was bogged down by mistrust and cynicism.

He said: “We should be honest and admit that both Israeli and Palestinian politicians are sometimes the victims of their own rhetoric which makes compromise impossible.

“But Israel has imposed a brutal military occupation on Palestine, and through the expansion of its settlements is stealing more and more land every day.  There will be no peace for the world until there is a just settlement in the Middle East.”

Javier Solana has announced that he will step down from his post in October.  There is speculation as to whether his remarks stem from years of pent up frustration with the situation, or whether they reflect new thinking that may be emerging from talks between the EU and the Obama administration.