Fayyad to EU Commissioner: "It is time to tackle the problem at its roots"

Date: 26 / 01 / 2009  Time:  09:55
Ramallah – Ma’an –

“It is time to tackle the Israel-Palestinian issue at its roots” Palestinian Prime Minister for the caretaker government Salam Fayyad told the European Union’s Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel on Sunday.

“We must bind Israel and prevent settlement expansion, we must secure international protection for the Palestinian people, and we must end the occupation that started in 1967,”

For his part, Michel promised 52 million Euros in aid to Palestine. The funding will go to the West Bank and Gaza, affirming the commissioner’s stance on the urgency of conciliation between Fatah and Hamas.

During his meetings with Fayyad, the commissioner was updated on the fallout from Israel’s three week offensive. Fayyad stressed the long term effects the war would have on the area, and the necessity to get basic services like water and electricity back up and running.

Most importantly, Fayyad stressed, such an offensive must not be repeated; a ceasefire must be maintained and relief works must be comprehensive in order to rebuild what has been destroyed.

Mechanisms for rebuilding Gaza are already in place, noted Fayyad. The UN Security Council Resolution 1860 should be implemented along with the Egyptian initiative, he said, and international law should be applied to the Israeli military which violated it.

Also essential, said Fayyad, is the issue of conciliation. He asked the commissioner to help rally the whole international community because that will help form a Palestinian unity government. This government will be better able to protect the Palestinian national project, he said, and it will create the right atmosphere so we can open crossings and settle a long term truce.

The EU, the US administration and the international Quartet are required to play an effective role in Palestinian reconstruction, Fayyad noted. The area needs outside forces which can guarantee promises are implemented. Only then will Palestine have its own state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Responding to Fayyad’s speech, Michel noted the EU’s financial commitment to the region, and added that he will meet with Israeli officials this week and “urge them to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip and secure passage of all humanitarian aid including food and medicines as well as the needed materials for rebuilding and refurbishing the Gaza Strip.”