Til medlemmernes evt. videre foranstaltning se vedlagt brev til Folketingets formand fra
Mr. Avraham Burg, tidligere formand for det israelske parlament, Knesset, med en opfordring til at
tilslutte sig en Pan-Europæisk modstand mod annekteringer på den israelske Vestbred.
Fra:
Avraham Burg <[email protected]>
Dato:
23. februar 2021 kl. 10.35.27 CET
Til:
Henrik Dam Kristensen <[email protected]>
Emne: Request from Israeli Political Figures to Join Pan-European Initiative of MPs Against
Annexation
Dear Mr. Henrik Dam Kristensen,
My name is Avraham Burg, and I am a former Speaker of Knesset (Israeli Parliament). I hope this
email finds you well and that you and your family are healthy during this difficult time. Together
with trusted colleagues listed below, I am reaching out to you with a heavy heart and great concern
about the de facto annexation of the West Bank by Israel.
Over the summer, we reached out to MPs and MEPs from across Europe and across political parties
to sign
a letter opposing de jure Israeli annexation
of West Bank territory. International pressure,
including this letter, has been very effective in putting off de jure annexation.
I write to you now with a concern that is just as serious. While de jure annexation has been averted
at present, de facto annexation is now proceeding at an alarming pace.
The past year, despite the corona pandemic, saw the highest number of demolitions of Palestinian
homes in the area planned for annexation since 2016. Concurrently, the advancement of Israeli
settlements has skyrocketed to levels not seen in nearly a decade. This includes the advancement of
settlement construction in the highly strategic area of Givat HaMatos which has been a diplomatic
red line to both the EU and the US due to its significance to the prospects of a two-state solution.
Thus, while the international community delayed formal annexation, on the ground the de facto
annexation is speeding up.
As was evident earlier this year, forming close alliances between like-minded Israeli and European
decision-makers is essential to revert this trend and foster new possibilities for a just peace in this
troubled region.
With Biden in office, there are now new geopolitical opportunities for joint transatlantic efforts in
promoting a rules-based global order not least in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In this light and due to the urgent need for renewed European efforts in opposing the deeply
worrying trend of de facto annexation, we are organizing another initiative by MPs and MEPs
from across Europe and across political parties.
I am attaching the text of the letter here.