Press Communique

An official delegation from the Party of the European Left visiting the country, held a series of meetings with a Palestinian delegation representing the five leftist forces (the Popular Front, the Democratic Front, the People’s Party, the National Initiative, and FIDA). The two delegations agreed on the following:

1. The delegation of the European left stressed its solidarity with the just struggle of the Palestinian people for their national legitimate rights, mainly the right to free self determination. The delegation strongly condemned the aggressive policies of the Israeli occupation in the Palestinian territories, manifested in the feverish settlement expansion, plundering the Palestinian land, continuing the construction of the apartheid wall, imposing an unjust vicious siege on the Gaza Strip, erecting hundreds of barriers that restrict the Palestinians’ movement and increase their suffering, isolating the city of Jerusalem from its Palestinian sphere, and arresting thousands of Palestinians, in addition to the military attacks and incursions, as well as shelling residential areas and perpetrating targeted killings. The Palestinian delegation expressed its gratitude and appreciation for the support and solidarity of the European leftist forces and peoples for the Palestinian national liberation struggle.

2. The two delegations emphasized that security and stability in the region, and world peace in general, require the termination of the Israeli occupation, and accomplishing a comprehensive settlement for the conflict, based on related UN resolutions,  that guarantees the Israeli withdrawal to the 4th of June 1967 boarders, dismantling the settlements, establishing the fully independent sovereign State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, and solving the refugee problem in accordance with resolution 194 that guarantees their right to return. As the Palestinians are commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Nakba (catastrophe of 1948), the delegation of the European left expressed their respect to the determination of millions of Palestinian refugees who were displaced from their homes to return to these homes. The delegation expressed support to the legitimacy of this human right, and the need to recognize it as an indispensable element in any solution for the region’s conflict.

3. The two parties believe that the negotiations process launched by the Annapolis Conference last Autumn, is still revolving in a vicious circle, and heading towards a dead end. The main reasons for that is the Israeli government’s renunciation of its obligations, escalating its settlement activities and attacks against the Palestinian people, the US collusion and covering up for the Israeli government’s intransigence and indifference to international legitimacy, and the paralyzed role of the Quartet and its incapability to guarantee the compliance of Israel to the peace requisites. The two parties agree that the above mentioned underlines the need to convene an international conference with full powers, supervised by the UN, in which all effective international forces enjoy a collective participation, with the aim of implementing related U.N. resolutions. We believe that this international conference is the suitable formula for reaching a solution for the conflict in the region. The two parties also called for providing temporary international protection for the Palestinian people, under UN supervision in preparation for the termination of the occupation.

4. The two parties believe that the situation entails that the E.U takes a more effective position against the Israeli violations, to assert its independence from the American stand, in order to end Washington’s monopoly of the peace process, and guarantee a larger and more effective international participation in putting an end to Israeli arrogance and intransigence. The European delegation asserted that the Party of the European Left with all its components will enhance its efforts on various levels, to rectify E.U policy, and to make it more balanced and more in conformity with international legitimacy, and in support of the Palestinian people’s struggle against Israel’s aggression and indifference to International Law and the Bill of Rights. The two parties pledged their support for the call by the Party of European Left twords a “Europe without NATO”, and their firm opposition to NATO`s  strategy in the Middle East region.

5. The two parties believe the Palestinian internal division is inflicting serious damages on the Palestinian problem and its status on the international level. Acting to end this division is of utmost priority today for the restoration and promotion of the Palestinian people’s unity against the occupation. The delegation of the European left expressed its appreciation and support to the efforts exerted by the Palestinian left forces, to provide the conditions for launching a comprehensive national dialogue to end the division, restore unity on the basis of democracy and respect for human rights, and reach peaceful and democratic solutions for the Palestinian internal crisis with all its various components. The European delegation also expressed its satisfaction for the success of the Palestinian Left, alongside other national forces, NGOs, and influential independent figures, in formulating a joint initiative defining the features of the solution which should start with restoring the situation in the Gaza Strip to its condition before June 14, 2007, the formation of an agreed upon interim government to prepare for holding new presidential and legislative elections on the basis of full proportional representation, and activating mechanisms agreed upon in the Cairo dialogue (March 2005) for the development and activation of the PLO institutions, with the participation of all the Palestinian political spectrum, through democratic elections for the Palestinian National Council based on proportional representation.

6. The European delegation asserted its solidarity with the Palestinian political prisoners in the Israeli occupation jails. The delegation also strongly expressed the need to apply the Geneva Conventions to these prisoners, and the need to release them without discrimination and unconditionally, specially the leftist leader prisoners including comrade Ahmad Sa’adat General Secretary of the PFLP, comrade Sa’eed Al-Utbah member of Fida leadership who has been longest in jail (31 years), comrade Ibrahim Abu Hejleh member of the DFLP Politburo, comrade Basel Khandaqji member of the Central Committee of the People’s Party, and other national leaders, and members of the Legislative Council including PLC’ Speaker Abdel Aziz Dowake, and national leader Marwan Barghouthi.

7. The Palestinian delegation listened with interest to the briefing made by representatives of the Party of the European Left on their rich experience in the unification of the leftist forces in the E.U countries. The Palestinian delegation underlined its intention to benefit from this rich experience for the unification of the Palestinian leftist and progressive forces, as well as promoting their joint action.

8. The two delegations asserted the importance of continuing meetings, and developing  mechanisms to further dialogue among the forces they represent, with the aim of promoting joint visions and efforts in the struggle for the right of all peoples to  free self determination, liberation from all forms of oppression and tyranny, respect for the basic freedoms and human rights, protecting the world peace and the security of peoples and their independence against the policy of aggressive war and hegemony practiced by the US, as well as against the policies of Neo - Liberalism, and vicious capitalist globalism.


Ramallah- Palestine,
April 26, 2008