March 26, 2004

The European Union said on Thursday it will not recognize any unilateral change in Israel's borders from before the 1967 Middle East war.

The EU took the stance in an apparent bid to reject any effort by Israel to use the security barrier it is building in the West Bank to change borders unilaterally.

Israel says the barrier is vital to keep out Palestinian suicide bombers, but the Palestinians have branded it a land-grab that deprives them of territory they want for a state.

"The European Union will not recognize any change to the pre-1967 borders other than those arrived at by agreement between the parties," said a draft statement approved by EU foreign ministers for issue on Friday at a bloc summit.

The statement condemned Israel's "extra-judicial killing" of Hamas's spiritual leader and founder Ahmed Yassin on Monday and said a cycle of violence had taken the region further away from a negotiated settlement.

It urged President Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority to do more to fight terrorism and for Israel to reverse its settlement policy, dismantle settlements built since March 2001 and reverse construction of the barrier.
[I believe that PM Ariel Sharon has indeed been having settlements dismantled. As for "reversing construction" of the fence, I wouldn't hold my breath, EUrope.--Jen]

The EU reiterated a policy set last month that any unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip must be a step toward a two-state solution, must not involve a transfer of settlement activity to the West Bank and must involve an organized and negotiated handover to the Palestinian Authority.

This isn't right and it's not fair!
First of all, Israel won and the Paleostinians lost the land in question fair and square in the 6-Day War.
In 1973, Israel fought for and took even more land in the Yom Kippur War.
The only time that this land was supposedly negotiated away by "agreement between the parties" was in "land for peace" deals like Camp David in '79 and '00 and Oslo.
Well, the Israelis have never gotten any peace, so why should they give up the land that is rightfully theirs?
And the Paleos haven't taken the one and only required step on the "road map" to a 2-state "solution" which is to dismantle their terror groups and to eschew terror as their only weapon!
And I don't think they ever will.
The EU has condemned the Israelis and taken the side of the "Palestinians" so many times, that I doubt they paid much notice to this latest BS, especially when the whole world knows that the EU is "all hat and no cattle."
All they do is talk. (Look at what they're not doing to fight terrorism-All they give out is more tough talk and appointing a Terrorism Tzar to handle problems like big attacks.
Oooh, betcha Al Queda is shaking in their sheiks!)
The EU is never to back Israel's right to exist, much less to defend herself from those who would murder her citizens and the Israelis know it.
If only the EU would quit giving money to the PA, it may actually bring Arafat and his gang of murderers much, much closer to giving up terror.
But that's too logical and if there's anything the EU is not, it's logical.