Pier Antonio Panzeri, Chair of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights, has condemned the killing of nearly 60 Palestinians by Israeli troops at the Gaza Strip on Monday.
“We cannot remain silent in the face of what happened on Monday: a number of Palestinians killed and injured, amongst them several children, during the mass demonstration near the Gaza fence. Nothing can ever justify the use of military force against civilians who exercise their legitimate rights to protest peacefully,” he said in a statement Wednesday.
“At the same time we have to underline that Hamas and other extremist groups in Gaza must stop fueling the fire and exploit for their own political benefit these demonstrations, which are the expression of a population already suffering from more than a decade of blockade, under harsh humanitarian living conditions and without any prospect for the future,” said the Italian member of the European Parliament.
On the recent US decision to transfer its Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, he said “No one can deny the historical ties of the Jewish people to the Holy City of Jerusalem. The same is true for Christians and Muslims.”
“It is more than ever time for this Holy City to become the symbol of peace, reconciliation and tolerance, which can only be achieved by the resumption of meaningful political negotiations aimed at a two-state solution, based on June 4 1967 lines and with Jerusalem as the capital of both states,” said Panzeri.
He called on the EU and its Member States to show leadership and vision and to remain firmly committed to the relevant UN Resolutions.