[PDF] The European Union And The Palestinian Question eBook

Author : Álvaro de Vasconcelos
Publisher : Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research
Page : 20 pages
File Size : 16,52 MB
Release : 2012-11-14
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN : 9948145003

GET BOOK

European public opinion holds that the gravest obstacle to peace in the Middle East is the unwillingness of both sides to compromise, stemming from Israel’s oppression of Palestinians, Israeli housing settlements on disputed territories and Palestinian suicide attacks. When asked to identify the primary aggressor in the conflict, 43 percent of respondents chose both Israel and the Palestinians, reflecting the chain of retaliations in the conflict. Only 25 percent considered Israel to be the sole aggressor and even less – 13 percent – believed that only the Palestinian side was to blame. Although the European public deeply condemns the Palestinian suicide and rocket attacks on Israel, they are equally critical of Tel Aviv’s response. For example: 46 percent disapprove of the wall built to separate Israel from the West Bank; 53 percent consider the economic blockade of the Gaza Strip to be illegal; and 60 percent condemn the Israeli armed incursion in the area in the winter of 2008–2009. These results show a growing trend in the opinion of European citizens that Israeli government policies are responsible for the failure of the peace process. The Arab democratic wave is fundamentally changing the regional context of the Palestinian issue, and gradually ending the American and European quasi-monopoly as external peace mediators. Obviously, in the past a number of Arab initiatives have occurred, but the gap between leaders and Arab public opinion allowed some – such as Mubarak – to align them with the American stance at the time. The end of the Mubarak regime has brought Egypt much closer to all Palestinians. It was already clear there was no longer support in Egypt for the stifling closure of Gaza. With the end of authoritarianism, Egypt was quick to move to a position quite similar to that of Turkey, in that it combines a genuine desire for peace with Israel with strong support for the rights of the Palestinians, including the right to statehood, an opinion shared by the majority of the European public. Whether a one- or a two-state solution looms on the horizon, the question of civil rights for the Palestinians will not go away, nor will the need of all parties in the conflict to comply with international law. Whatever the circumstances, an approach centered on adherence to laws, norms and fundamental rights seems to be the option that will remain at the heart of EU policy for years to come.

Author : Muriel Asseburg
Publisher :
Page : 132 pages
File Size : 37,43 MB
Release : 2010
Category : Arab countries
ISBN :

GET BOOK

This Chaillot Paper examines European involvement in the Arab-Israeli conflict. It focuses on European Union involvement in the conflict, with special, but not exclusive, attention to EU involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian dimension of the conflict.

Author : Steffen Schulz
Publisher : diplom.de
Page : 92 pages
File Size : 19,42 MB
Release : 2002-05-08
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 3832453970

GET BOOK

Inhaltsangabe:Abstract: The Union's position and role: Promoter of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace and of prosperity for the region; Key player in the political and economic process (The European Union on its Middle East policy web site). This way of portraying itself does not leave any doubt about the position and role of the European Union (EU) in the Arab-Israeli conflict. In practice, however, the EU does not appear to be very influential in the region. So far all treaties and agreements concerning the Middle East peace process have been achieved under the mediation and sometimes the intervention of the United States (U.S.). Europe has usually watched these political developments from the sidelines. That does not mean that in this region Europe has no role at all. The EU is involved in the peace process not in the political, however, but in the economic part. Since the Oslo-agreement in 1993 European money has kept the quasi-state of the Palestinians alive and thus the EU is usually perceived as payer but not as player in the Arab-Israeli conflict. At the moment, however, in which the situation in the Middle East is characterised by violent clashes between Palestinians and Israelis and in which there is the widespread assumption that the peace process is on the brink of disaster, there are growing demands that Europe should also play a greater political role in the region. Indeed, in recent weeks Europe has appeared as a mediator between Israelis and Palestinians. In the name of Europe the German foreign minister Joschka Fischer has acted twice as a mediator between both conflict parties. Particularly the Arabs and Palestinians want the EU to get involved more strongly in the peace process. They perceive America, which is doubtlessly the most powerful actor in the conflict, as biased and more in favour of Israel and therefore they hope that Europe could be a kind of counterweight to the U.S Against this background it has to be asked whether the European Union would be able to play a major political role so that one could speak about Europe not only as payer but also as player in the peace process? In order to answer this question it is firstly necessary to examine the main aspects that determine the capabilities and limits of the European Union in international affairs. One of the main factors in this respect is doubtlessly the concept of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the institutional framework which is [...]

Author : Ilan Pappé
Publisher : Psychology Press
Page : 262 pages
File Size : 13,42 MB
Release : 1999
Category : Israel-Arab War, 1948-1949
ISBN : 0415169488

GET BOOK

This study assimilates diverse interpretations of the origins of the Middle East conflict with emphasis on the fight for Palestine and its religious and political roots. It draws largely on the historical revisionism of the last two decades.

Author : Mark LeVine
Publisher : University of California Press
Page : 296 pages
File Size : 24,20 MB
Release : 2014-06-20
Category : History
ISBN : 0520279131

GET BOOK

One Land, Two States imagines a new vision for Israel and Palestine in a situation where the peace process has failed to deliver an end of conflict. “If the land cannot be shared by geographical division, and if a one-state solution remains unacceptable,” the book asks, “can the land be shared in some other way?” Leading Palestinian and Israeli experts along with international diplomats and scholars answer this timely question by examining a scenario with two parallel state structures, both covering the whole territory between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, allowing for shared rather than competing claims of sovereignty. Such a political architecture would radically transform the nature and stakes of the Israel-Palestine conflict, open up for Israelis to remain in the West Bank and maintain their security position, enable Palestinians to settle in all of historic Palestine, and transform Jerusalem into a capital for both of full equality and independence—all without disturbing the demographic balance of each state. Exploring themes of security, resistance, diaspora, globalism, and religion, as well as forms of political and economic power that are not dependent on claims of exclusive territorial sovereignty, this pioneering book offers new ideas for the resolution of conflicts worldwide.

Author : Naveed Ahmad Tahir
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 49,55 MB
Release : 2009
Category :
ISBN :

GET BOOK

West Europe played a crucial role in the creation of Israel in the midst of the Arab world, thus sowing the seeds of a stubborn conflict that has defied resolution even after the passage of six decades. It nurtured and protected Israel throughout its infancy, often at the expense of the dispossessed Palestinians, and it was only in the late sixties that the US took over this role from West Europe. The European Community countries which had been toeing the American line, took some years to develop a common policy on the Arab-Israeli issue as distinct from American policy. Historical realities, such as the unspeakable horrors of the holocaust made the West Europeans too timid to look at the issue in an unbiased manner. Physical nearness to the Middle East and energy dependence were important factors, which forced the Europeans to review their blatantly pro-Israeli stance in the seventies and adopt a semblance of balance in their policy towards the protagonists. With the world community through various UN resolutions having acknowledged the Palestinian issue as a core political and humanitarian problem in the Middle East, that needed to be resolved in a just and equitable manner, the Europeans were had-pressed to see it in a new light, and this was reflected in the various declarations and statements issued by the community, which with time become bolder. Nevertheless, a notable aspect of the European Union's policy on the Palestinian-Israeli issue is that on several occasions it has been poised to take a serious independent initiative to resolve the issue, but has been held back by Washington, which is determined to retain its predominant role in the region.

Author : J. H. H. Weiler
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 123 pages
File Size : 31,23 MB
Release : 2024-10-31
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1040145493

GET BOOK

To many outside observers of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there would appear to be one eminently sensible solution: in exchange for recognition and adequate security guarantees, Israel should return the West Bank and the Gaza strip, subject to minor boundary modifications, to the Palestinians (led by a moderate PLO). The Palestinians would then exercise their right to self-determination and establish an independent state with or without a link to Jordan. And yet, this solution has found favor neither with successive Israeli governments nor with the PLO. First published in 1985, Israel and the Creation of a Palestinian State (now with a new preface by the author) analyses the reasons for the rejection of this solution by the protagonists. It then sets up a vision of a possible solution which, by taking account of the subjective fears and aspirations of the parties, may be regarded as more feasible. The author’s vision draws inspiration from the experience of reconstructing a new transnational order in Europe after the ravages of the Second World War. The underlying theme focuses on the limitations of the purely national context as a framework for resolving the current political problems of the Israeli-Palestinian dilemma.