EU’s Role in Middle East to be Placed under the Spotlight at Oireachtas Committee
13th April 2010
The central role played by the European Union in the affairs of the Middle East will be scrutinised at todays meeting of the Oireachtas European Affairs Committee.
Mr Dore Gold, former Israeli Ambassador to the UN will be the witness at the meeting which takes place at 3pm in Committee 3 of Leinster House.
The European Union attaches great importance to the finding of a just and final settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict and supports initiatives to further the peace process, especially through the quartet road map and the role of the Special Envoy for the Middle East Peace Process.
It has however been more critical of Israel of late. The EU has called on Israel to cease all settlement construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, including natural growth which the EU believes is an obstacle to peace and threatens to make a two-state solution impossible. Relations with the EU were also strained over Israel’s military action in Gaza and the ongoing blockade as well as the alleged use of forged EU passports by those accused of assassinating Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.
Committee Chairman, Bernard Durkan TD;
“There has been disagreement between the EU and Israel of late on a number of issues ranging from the peace process and the fraudulent use of EU passports. Nevertheless, this relationship remains crucial if there is to be long term sustainable peace in the region.
Mr Dore has immense experience in Israel-EU relations and his insight into their current condition will be useful for Committee members to get a full appreciation of the present situation.”
Mr. Dore is currently the President of the Jerusalem Centre of Public Affairs. According to this agency it “focuses on the main issues affecting Israel's security and international standing in order to wage the war of ideas in global opinion and has developed and implemented an array of cutting-edge programs to present Israel's case to the world".
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