 |
Sari Essayah (L), Finnish Christian-Democrat MEP who tabled the resolution, with Gilad Shalit's father, Noam Shalit, at the European Parliament.
|
|
|
STRASBOURG (EJP)---The European Parliament on Thursday urged Hamas to release "immediately" captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, in the first such resolution adopted unanimously by show of hands.
MEPs meeting in plenary session in Strasbourg, France, also called upon Hamas to grant Sergeant Shalit rights and privileges pursuant to the Geneva Convention.
Shalit was kidnapped by several Palestinian groups on Israeli soil near the Gaza border on 25 June 2006.
Since then, the 23-year-old man – who holds dual French and Israeli citizenship - has been held incommunicado in Gaza and deprived of basic rights under the Geneva Conventions.
After the kidnapping, Gilad Shalit was granted Italian nationality as well.
Deploring "the continued disregard for Sergeant Shalit’s basic human rights and the fact that his family and the Israeli and French authorities have been prevented from obtaining information regarding his well-being", the European Parliament resolution urges Hamas "to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit Sergeant Shalit without delay, and to permit him to communicate with his family" in accordance with the Convention.
The resolution, initiated by a Belgian association of support for Gilad Shalit, was tabled by a Christian-Democrat MEP from Finland, Sari Essayah, whose father is Moroccan.
"The situation of Gilad Shalit is a humanitarian issue and the resolution underlines the fact that since being taken hostage nearly 4 years ago, he is kept in an unknown place in Gaza where he does not enjoy basic rights according to any humanitarian standards, including the 3rd Geneva Convention", she said.
| |
| The EP resolution also stressed the importance of progress towards a two-state solution and the relaunching of proximity negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. "Mutual trust-building measures by all sides, including a significant release of Palestinian prisoners, may help to create a constructive atmosphere leading to the release of Sergeant Shalit," it said. |
“The minimum requirement is that the Red Cross and Gilad's parents may be allowed to be in contact with him", she added.
| |
|
Noam Shalit met Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament, Wednesday in Strasbourg.
Picture:EP
|
"Gilad Shalit should not be made a bargaining chip by the terrorist organisation Hamas but should be released immediately. This is the message that the EPP Group (Christian Democrat) wishes the High Representative Lady Ashton to take with her to Gaza during her forthcoming visit", she concluded.
Members from all political groups in the European Parliament, except for the European Left group, have signed a letter sent to Catherine Ashton requesting her to raise the case during her visit to Gaza scheduled for March 17.
Gilad Shalit's father, Noam Shalit, visited the European Parliament this week to inform MEPs of the case. He met Wednesday with the President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, and Catherine Ashton.
"The European Union gives a lot of money to the Palestinians, and I hope the Palestinians, and especially Hamas, won't be able to ignore" the vote of this resolution, Noam Shalit said after the meetings.
Europe "should say clear and loud that it is not acceptable that Hamas is keeping anyone, and especially a European citizen, in captivity for four years, in complete isolation, without any contact with the outside world," he added.
“I hope that Catherine Ashton will call for Hamas to conclude this issue and release my son Gilad."