Israel, EU lawmakers blast UN meeting on Palestinian rights - Haaretz

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Sun., September 02, 2007 Elul 19, 5767

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Last update - 02:55 02/09/2007

Israel, EU lawmakers blast UN meeting on Palestinian rights

By The Associated Press

A United Nations-sponsored conference on the rights of Palestinians opens this week at the European Union assembly, despite protests by Israel and EU lawmakers who say the meeting's organizers have an anti-Israeli agenda.

The two-day panel meeting, opening Thursday at the EU assembly, was convened by the UN's Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. It will discuss ways to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace, the committee said.

But Israel views the committee as a legacy of the 1975 UN General Assembly resolution which was revoked in 1991 and which equated Zionism with racism.

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Some EU lawmakers, backing Israel's push to have the conference canceled, say the panel meeting was approved by leaders of European Parliament's political groups without consulting the appropriate parliamentary bodies.

Ran Curiel, the Israeli envoy to the EU, asked EU parliament president Hans-Gert Poettering last week block the conference.

The EU assembly refused, saying it was not backing the conference, only providing space for the meetings. However, the European Parliament rejected a similar request for a meeting by the UN panel a few years ago because the committee has called for boycotts and sanctions against Israel.

"It is absolutely improper and offensive that a conference like this is now taking place at the premises of the European Parliament," said Czech conservative legislator Jana Hybaskova, chairwoman of the parliament's Delegation for Relations with Israel, adding that the delegation had not been consulted beforehand.

The European People's Party, the largest party in the 785-seat EU assembly, was opposed to the meeting, but other political groupings have pushed it through.

"Organizing this sort of thing in parliament is always very tricky, delicate and difficult politically," said Joseph Daul, chairman of the conservatives. "We were against this debate, but in the full spirit of democracy, others decided to go ahead. There are eight political groupings in the assembly.

Geneva-based UN Watch, which monitors the UN's compliance with its charter and is associated with the American Jewish Committee, said the parliament's decision to support the conference, where Israel's view will not be represented, was deeply regrettable.

"Contrary to the noble-sounding title, this conference is undermining the core principles of the EU-sponsored Quartet and the road map peace process, said Hillel Neuer, the watchdog's executive director. A large part of the problem is naivety. People are simply unfamiliar with the anti-Israel propaganda material in the meeting."

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization based in Los Angeles, said the conference was one-sided and only served to vilify Israel. It praised those lawmakers who have called for the meeting to be called off.

But the conference organizers denied it would be anti-Israeli, saying it would provide a timely opportunity to discuss situation on the ground and look at all possible ways to advance the Middle East peace process.

The UN committee, established in 1975, is chaired by Senegal. It has 22 member and 26 observer states.

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1.	They can all kish my toches	16:55	\|	Jesus	29/08/07

2.	As a German citizen, I am ashamed that the EU	17:25	\|	Petra	29/08/07

3.	ISRAEL BASHING	18:32	\|	GYBOR	29/08/07

4.	Palestinian rights	20:07	\|	democrat	29/08/07

5.	deplorable Israelis	21:05	\|	Tsvi	29/08/07

6.	The EU refused an anti-terrror demonstration...	21:18	\|	Nannette	29/08/07

7.	Anti-Jewish racism, I like that description applied	21:29	\|	Ilanit	29/08/07

8.	democrat	21:38	\|	Lynn	29/08/07

9.	Tsvi	21:39	\|	Lynn	29/08/07

10.	Who give a s***t what you think, Israel?	22:16	\|	Clickfool	29/08/07

11.	Israel listen	22:19	\|	Swiss	29/08/07

12.	This is good	22:21	\|	American 3	29/08/07

13.	Petra, Petra, Petra...you must be kidding right?	22:28	\|	Yeah you are	29/08/07

14.	The Palestinian propaganda machine from 48 to 07	22:54	\|	Fuad Adjami	29/08/07

15.	israel acts in the wrong way!!	23:09	\|	scallywag	29/08/07

16.	tsvi in safe and secure klagenfurt	23:15	\|	scallywag	29/08/07

17.	clickfool	23:17	\|	scallywag	29/08/07

18.	#4 democrat	23:31	\|	17	29/08/07

19.	anti-Israeli agenda?	23:55	\|	Interested in truth	29/08/07

20.	Israel acts in the wrong way?	00:00	\|	Interested in truth	30/08/07

21.	scalliwag don`t forget the oil money	00:00	\|	Adjami	30/08/07

22.	And who the hell is Ron Curiel?	00:17	\|	Don Camillo	30/08/07

23.	# 20 Don Camillo - you are habitually wrong	00:47	\|	17	30/08/07

24.	Simon Wiesenthal Center is a joke	01:22	\|	Joe	30/08/07

25.	Facing reality	01:43	\|	Ala Dabat	30/08/07

26.	10 Re Who Gives a Sh**t what Israel thinks ...	02:47	\|	Dutch	30/08/07

27.	interested in the truth	08:49	\|	scallywag	30/08/07

28.	adjami - you are completely right!	08:52	\|	scallywag	30/08/07

29.	yeah you are	08:59	\|	scallywag	30/08/07

30.	Dutch, Clickfool, et al	21:16	\|	Observer	30/08/07

31.	jjjj	22:07	\|	jjjj	30/08/07

32.	I wonder	06:18	\|	Jesse	02/09/07

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