The Italian MP Michele Piras, member of the ruling Democratic Party and member of the Executive Board of the League of “Parliamentarian for Al Quds”, participated on Tuesday 9th June,  in an online seminar on Palestine under the title: “The European responsibilities towards the Israeli abuse of the Palestinians rights in Jerusalem and the West Bank”. and organized by the European Palestinian media center.

His intervention was as follows:

First question: what is the European foreign policy towards the Israeli decision to consider Jerusalem as its Capital?

“If we are talking about the EU position on palestine we can say that it isn’t changed. For the Union Jerusalem is the Capital of two States, that are Palestine and Israel. Starting from this point of view several States of the European Union (such as Francem Italy, Sweden and Germany) have hard criticized Israeli policy and Donald Trump’s declarations, considering those non-compliant with the United Nation resolutions and a serious problem for peace in the area.

Actually I consider this position important but really too weak and outdated. Certainly I agree with part of it, in line of principle, but we have to register some important news (if we really are able to call them in that way) that basically have signed the failure of the peace process in Palestine, caused by the Israeli aggressive policy, by his strategy of occupation and violation of Palestinian people’s rights.

Watching to the strategy of Israel in Palestine, to the violence and the denial of human rights we can understand what happened (and what is happening) on the ground and also the reason why, in that context, peace is impossible.

Anyway we can’t define such deep injustice a correct way to peace. And the rebellion is a natural reaction.

In other terms what I think is that both the EU and the European Countries have misunderstood the centrality of the Palestinian issue, if we still consider the necessary goal of building a new kind of global balance, a correct balance.

Actually the Union has two big problems: one internal, that is the slowness of building the United States of Europe (with his own foreign policy and homogeneous social and economic model); the second external (which derives from the first one) that is the failure to recognize the strategic position of a euromediterranean policy.

I mean that what Europe needs to face new and old forms of Imperialism (coming from the States, from China and from Russia) is to build a huge cooperation area in the Mediterranean Sea, involving Middle Eastern Countries and peoples living in the Southern shore of Med.

And this Euromediterranean Union has to be founded on human rights, on peaceful exchange between peoples, cultures, religions, knowledges, human needs.

In this sense the role of Europe shouldn’t be only the condemnation of American or Israeli forcing, but to reach the role of a leadership in the Mediterranean area, in order to build a better model of partnership, that means paritetick, respectful of specificities, not colonial.

Condemning will not be enough, certainly it will not be enough to turn away in front of the real situation in Palestine, which deserves a more resolute action.

So I think that we have to focus more energies on this point, because it’s strategic: a stronger and united Europe is the real key to unlock the situation in Middle East and in Palestine, otherwise a destabilization policy like Trump’s one or colonial attitudes (like such of certain European Countries) will rule for long time more.

Second question: how can international law, UN’s resolution included, be respected?

“Looking at the situation on the ground it’s not easy to answer to this question. I mean that in this (almost) twenty-seven years passed from the Oslo Agreements Israel has shown that it works in the opposite direction to peace, and also the Land available for Palestinians has progressively shrunk to a very small part of the original Palestine. In that kind of conditions it’s impossible to enforce a resolution like that of the United Nations.

Even if you say that East Jerusalem is under Palestinian Authority’s control the truth (that everyone can see) is that also this part of the Capital is under Israeli occupation. The same happens in the Holy City.

What I think is that unfortunately the issue of “two People, two States” is failed. And the reason are Israeli violation and abuses.

But anyway the International Community has the duty to initiate and impose a new peace process, starting from new.

That means, first of all, to start again from the borders of 1967, as the large part of Palestinian forces say and also as the most progressive political parties of Israel are saying.

And I think we have to act as in the United States are doing in this fiery days, fighting against Racism: “no justice, no peace”. That means that if we want peace we have to build it with justice and respect.

For second, peace means that every State of Europe has to recognize the State of Palestine, the Right to return for refugees, the sovereignty of Palestinians on their Land, the Right of self-determination.

For third point the International Community has to guarantee the end of the occupation on the West Bank and the end of the blockade on Gaza Stripe, has to oversee and supervise the withdrawal from the occupied territories.

This means the establishment of an International Peace Interposition Force, following the model of the Lebanese one, operating in the Southern part of the Country (Unifil).

For last Jerusalem is the Capital of Palestine, but has to be declared ethernal World Capital of Peace, spiritual, cultural and political crossroad of dialogue between Peoples.

So what i mean is that complaint should no longer be a strategy for us, much less the main one.

We have the duty to move on a project phase, and we have to do it now.

That’s why – as I said before – we need a different Europe, and that’s the reason why we have to go beyond the division between national positions.

And finally I am convinced that such a construction could also help the United Nation to get out of the current deep crisis of the Organization, generated by the same Countries who are acting to avoid Peace reasons for thei own interests.