The EU`s increasing pro-"Israel" tilt hurts its image & the Palestinian people

Source: The Jordan Times, 22-12-2005.
By Ali Abunimah
The European Union, long perceived as being an even-handed and constructive force for Palestinian-"Israeli" peace, has accelerated its slide towards an open bias for "Israel" and collusion with "Israel`s" gross violations of international law and the rights of the Palestinian people.
The Guardian newspaper reported on Dec. 13: "A controversial report that accuses "Israel" of rushing to annex Arab areas of East Jerusalem (al-Quds) was shelved by European foreign ministers in Brussels yesterday out of sensitivity to "Israel"."
The report adds that "Javier Solana, the EU`s foreign policy chief, persuaded ministers to drop the report when he warned that Europe`s influence over "Israel" would be severely undermined if it were to be published".
The document that Solana allegedly helped cover up reportedly exposes "Israel`s" continuing crimes in occupied East Jerusalem, including its attempts, in violation of international law, to completely colonise East Jerusalem and to alter the demographics of the city by constructing the separation wall and expanding illegal Jewish (Zionist)-only colonies.
This collusion with "Israeli" crimes totally contradicts EU responsibilities under international law and its own basic principles.
The International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled in July 2004 that: "It is for all states, while respecting the United Nations Charter and international law, to see to it that any impediment, resulting from the construction of the wall, in the exercise by the Palestinian people of its right to self-determination is brought to an end. In addition, all states parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention are under an obligation, while respecting the charter and international law, to ensure compliance by "Israel" with international humanitarian law as embodied in that convention."
The EU`s own Association Agreement with "Israel" states in Art. 2 that the agreement itself "shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles which... constitute an essential element of this agreement".
Rather than taking any measures against "Israeli" violations, the EU is making threats against the Palestinians. Days after the report cover-up, Solana warned the Palestinian people under occupation that if they exercised their democratic rights and voted Hamas candidates into office, the EU would cut off its aid money.
Aside from the absolute contempt for democracy and the neo-colonial attitude that this threat reveals, a cut off of EU aid may actually be no bad thing. All the money that the EU is pouring into the region is not helping the Palestinians or bringing peace. It is subsidising the "Israeli" occupation. "Israel" destroys, and the EU meekly rebuilds, while the Palestinian people get poorer and less free, and then "Israel" destroys and colonises more.
It would also be good to see the Palestinian Authority became more accountable to the people it supposedly represents, rather than to international donors who keep an aging institution alive.
The EU is like the person who provides an alcoholic with money for booze and a car to drive while drunk while saying that to do otherwise would offend the sensitivities of someone who is a great danger to himself and others. This cycle can only breed further desperation and conflict.
Under the guise of supporting the Palestinians and the peace process, the EU is actually freeing "Israel" to continue to pursue its criminal actions unperturbed while the EU exercises no real influence. If the EU wants genuinely to move the Palestinians and "Israelis" towards peace, it is clear what it should do:
1. Officially publish the suppressed EU report on "Israeli" crimes in occupied East Jerusalem.
2. Immediately suspend the EU-"Israel" Association Agreement, in line with Article 2, until "Israel" ceases and desists, under international inspection, the well-documented and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the occupied territories, including extrajudicial executions, confiscation of land, house demolition, imprisonment without charge or trial, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
3. Discharge EU member states` obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention by imposing economic and diplomatic sanctions against "Israel" in order to force it to stop building the separation wall and the colonies in the occupied territories.
4. Support the establishment of an international court of justice to try "Israeli" officials involved in planning, ordering and executing the above-mentioned criminal acts.
Alas, the fact that there seems little chance of the EU following the correct course means it is likely that the goodwill the EU has built up in the Arab world over decades will be sacrificed for the dubious goal of avoiding confrontation with an outlaw "Israel" and its politically powerful allies in the United States.
If the EU does not take heed, it is likely that in a few years it will be viewed in the region with the same hostility and suspicion that currently greets the United States. It is hard to imagine a worse outcome for European diplomacy.
The writer is co-founder of The Electronic Intifada. He contributed this article to The Jordan Times.