Archive for 2009
Gaza Visit Day Three - Thursday 23 July
Posted on July 26, 2009
Thursday 23 July 2009-07-26
Thursday morning, another glorious day over Jerusalem as we drove towards the West Bank to a viewing point near Bethlehem to see the impact of Israeli settlement activity on Palestinian communities.
The Palestinian village nestled in the valley and on the surrounding hills were two Israeli settlements totally dominating the Palestinian homes. A further Israeli illegal outpost had been located close to the viewing point. It was hooked up to the electricity and water supply. A representative from the UN Co-ordination for Humanitarian Affairs met us at the viewing point and explained the encroachment of illegal settlements, outposts and settler-only roads which were peppered throughout the West Bank like a necklace of garrison outposts.
Permanent link | Categories: gaza • palestine • west bank • israel • middle east
Gaza Visit - Day Two - Wednesday 22 July
Posted on July 23, 2009
A glorious morning,
Today is the day to meet the Israelis; we arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the civilised hour of 9.00 a.m.. We were met courteously by Ron Yaaboly and Ester Solomon. Ester had paid a visit to Dublin a month earlier and was impressed that a woman was Lord Mayor of Dublin!
We met with Uer Zinger from the Liaison Committee of Cogat (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories) the Deputy foreign minister Davy Ayalo and David Taub Head of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Permanent link | Comments (0) | Categories: Gaza • Palestine • Israel
Gaza Visit - Day One - Tuesday 21 July
Posted on July 21, 2009
Six o’clock on Tuesday 21st July. Its a rude awakening to be on the road to Gaza from Jerusalem at that hour. A modern highway took us to the Border Crossing at Erez a couple of kilometres before the crossing.
Permanent link | Comments (0) | Categories: Foreign & European Affairs • Gaza • Israel • Palestinian Territories
Gaza Visit - Prelude
Posted on July 19, 2009
A delegation of members of the European Affairs Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee will visit Israel and the Palestinian Territories beginning today, on a fact-finding mission.
The Joint Committee Members were shocked by the Israeli military incursion into Gaza over the Christmas period resulting in the deaths of over 1,400 civilians and the destruction of an enormous amount of property including schools and hospitals and the HQ of the UN Relief Agency (UNWRA).
While the conflict was still raging the EU Affairs Committee agreed two resolutions unanimously. One resolution in my name called inter alia for “an immediate review of the existing EU Israeli Trade Agreement in terms of its required compliance with human rights, democratic principles and international law”.
Permanent link | Comments (0) | Categories: Foreign & European Affairs • Gaza • Israel • Palestinian Territories
