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German MEP Elmar Brok is briefed by an Israeli army officer.
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JERUSALEM (EJP)---A joint delegation of nine members of the European Parliament and members of the national parliaments from France and Belgium paid a two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank last week in order to understand the ongoing situation in the Gaza conflict.
Organized by "European Friends of Israel," a pan-European pro-Israel-lobby, the two-day mission was led by German Christian-Democrat MEP Elmar Brok.
"The purpose of this mission was to give the MPs the opportunity to understand what the situation for thousands of Israeli citizens living close to the Gaza Strip is but also to give them the chance to hear the explanations of senior political leaders and experts both from Israel and the Palestinian Territories,” said Dimitri Dombret, director of EFI.
On Thursday, while arriving in the morning in the southern city of Sderot, a rocket alert rang and the delegation quickly ran to protect itself into a shelter.
| German MEP Elmar Brok. |
“I saw in Sderot the impact of a Qassam rocket, German MEP Elmar Brok, told Die Welt online newspaper. “When do you see this place, the closed kindergartens and schools, you have the feeling that the whole city is a big open air shelter. One understands the pressure which rests on the mayor." "The city’s population is asking again and again: “When will it finish ? When does our country somewhat for us?" "It is an enormous pressure which also justifies that something must be done," he said.
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nce the alert was over, the MPs were briefed by the Mayor of Sderot Eli Moyal and by Olivier Rafowitz, the Israeli army spokesman, about the ongoing situation.
In Tel Aviv, the parliamentarians visited the Tel Hashomer hospital where both Palestinians citizens and Israeli soldiers wounded during the current conflict are being treated. In the evening, the delegation met in Jerusalem with Israel’s president, Shimon Peres.
On Friday, the delegation traveled to the West Bank town of Ramallah for talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Rafiq Husseini, chief of staff of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.