Zie diverse artikelen:

Richtlijn Europese commissie keerpunt in betrekkingen met Israël, UCP 19-7-2013
... "De richtlijn van de Europese commissie om met ingang van 2014 subsidies, prijzen en financiële instrumenten voor Israël uit te sluiten voor organisaties uit de nederzettingen is een keerpunt in de betrekkingen tussen de EU en Israël". Dat is het oordeel van voorzitter René Grotenhuis van United Civilians for Peace over de beslissing van de Europese commissie om organisaties uit Israëlische nederzettingen uit te sluiten van een aantal vormen van samenwerking tussen Israël en de EU. ...

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Eerste concrete stap EU tegen Israëlische nederzettingen, MO 19-7-2013 

... Nieuwe EU-richtlijnen zetten de financiering van Israëlische groepen op bezet Palestijns gebied gedeeltelijk stop. De beslissing van de Europese Commissie is een reflectie van een verstrengde attitude onder de lidstaten tegenover de aanhoudende uitbreiding van Israëlische nederzettingen op de bezette regio’s. Dinsdag 16 juli werd de beslissing aangekondigd. Israëlische eerste minister Benjamin Netanyahu reageerde dat hij zulke dictaten van buitenaf op zijn grenzen niet erkent. ...

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Nieuwe richtlijn van de EU sluit nederzettingen uit van overeenkomsten met Israel, 16-7-2013 Abu Pessoptimist 

... Haaretz meldt dat premier Netanyahu en staatssecretaris van Buitenlandse Zaken Elkin, onder meer via de telefoon, veel moeite doen om bevriende EU-lidstaten zover te krijgen dat zij alsnog voor 30 juli publicatie van de richtlijn tegenhouden...

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EU acknowledges obligation to not recognize Israeli annexation of Palestinian territory, Palestinian BDS National Committee 18-7-2013

... New European Union guidelines will prevent Israeli ministries, public bodies and businesses that operate in occupied Palestinian territory from receiving loans worth hundreds of millions of Euros each year from the European Investment Bank, it emerged today. The EU will also stop awarding grant funding to Israeli ministries, public bodies or private businesses for activities that take place in occupied Palestinian territory, even if they are headquartered inside Israel’s pre-1967 borders...

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EU decision on agreements with Israel welcome, but doesn’t go far enough, Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, 17th July 2013

The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign tentatively welcomed the EU decision reported yesterday that from 2014 any future agreements between Israel and the European Union will have to “unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967”. Furthermore, according to an Israeli official quoted in Haaretz, such agreements will be consequent on Israel recognising “in writing that the West Bank [and East Jerusalem] settlements are not part of Israel”.

IPSC Chairperson Martin O’Quigley said, that “after an initial reading of the guidelines, the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign tentatively welcomes this decision. We sincerely hope, and will push for, the rigorous implementation of, and continuous investigation of compliance with, these new guidelines to ensure Israel adheres to them. They cannot be allowed to become simply another set of guidelines that are ignored by both Israel and the EU in the interests of trade and cooperation.

“It is way past time for the EU to walk the walk when it comes to cracking down on Israel’s settlement colonies in Palestine. They are illegal under international law and their very existence is a war crime under the the Geneva Convention,” Mr. O’Quigley said.

Mr. O’Quigley continued: “At the same time, the IPSC recognises that these new rules do not go far enough. It is our understanding that it would theoretically be possible for a company that operates both in the illegal settlements and inside the state of Israel to receive EU funding once it ‘promised’ not to use the funding in the occupied territories. Rather than risk EU funding fraudulently slipping into the settlements, all companies and institutions that operate in the illegal settlements should be excluded from any future agreements with Israel, as they are complicit in ongoing war crimes.”

Mr. O’Quigley drew attention to the Palestinian call for a campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it abides by international law. “Indeed, these guidelines raise much larger questions about why any Israeli institutions or companies receive EU funding in the first place. For decades Israel has conducted a brutal military occupation of Palestine, and is responsible for gross human rights abuses and war crimes against the Palestinian people, including the ongoing siege of Gaza.

“Even inside the state of Israel, Palestinians and other non-Jewish citizens are legally and routinely discriminated against. At present Israel is attempting to ethnically cleanse tens of thousands of Palestinian Bedouin from their ancestral homes in the Naqab (Negev) desert. This is a racist act, pure and simple. The Palestinian call for a campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel is clear that until Israel fully abides by its obligations under international law, ends the occupation and grants full equality to Palestinian citizens of Israel – including the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees – there can be no cooperation with Israeli Apartheid, full stop. This is a call the IPSC supports and one we believe the EU should too,” Mr. O’Quigley concluded.

EU Guidelines published on the ECCP website

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Palestinian Human Rights Organisations Welcome the EU’s Adherence to International Law Through the Adoption of EU Guidelines on EU Support to Israeli Entities or Activities in Illegal Settlements, 17-7-2013

On 16 July 2013, the European Union (EU) announced its adoption of a Commission Notice providing guidelines “on the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activities in the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 for grants, prizes, and financial instruments funded by the EU from 2014 onwards” (guidelines).

As members of the Palestinian Human Rights Organisations Council (PHROC), we welcome these guidelines, which enforce the longstanding position of the international community, including that of the EU, that Israeli settlements located in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) are illegal under international law. Moreover, the guidelines ensure that EU member states comply with their legal obligation not to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the occupied territory and to ensure respect for the Geneva Conventions. In addition, the guidelines implement the 10 December 2012 position agreed upon by all Foreign Ministers of the EU that “all agreements between the State of Israel and the EU must unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967”[1].

PHROC commends moves by EU member states to adhere to their legal obligations and to positions adopted by the EU itself and hopes that these guidelines will be fully implemented. If fully implemented, the guidelines will demonstrate the EU’s ability to move from words to action and to comply with its own commitment to put international law at the forefront of its foreign relations.

In light of the above, PHROC looks forward to the official publication of the guidelines, and more importantly, welcomes their full and transparent implementation.

 
Ends

[1] Council of the European Union, Council Conclusions, 10 December 2012, para. 4

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