This Wednesday, the Parliament will read an institutional declaration on the conflict between Israel and Palestine that “condemns the terrorist attack by Hamas” perpetrated in Israeli territory on October 7 but does not do the same, explicitly with Israel’s response in the Gaza Strip. .
The declaration, approved at the Board of Spokespersons held this Wednesday, makes a generic reference to the attacks against the civilian population, pointing out that “it is never acceptable, no matter where it comes from” and that “they must be condemned.” Furthermore, the text recognizes Israel’s right to defend itself, although “within the limits set by humanitarian law and international treaties.”
The institutional declaration does not have unanimous support since it has gone ahead with the votes of PSC, Junts, Ciudadanos and PP, and against ERC, CUP and En Comú Podem. The reason for this division is, precisely, the double standard when assessing the attitude of Israel and Palestine in the conflict that non-signatory parties see in the text.
Sources from these parties explain that in the declaration there are at least three aspects that they could not ignore and that thus entails their vote against. Firstly, that in the text there is a “very strong” condemnation of the role of Hamas in the origin of this new episode, while “it obviously condemns the victims that Israel’s response is causing. Secondly, the three parties demanded that explicit respect be reflected for the UN resolutions on this conflict, and thirdly, they do not at all agree with Israel’s explicit defense of defending itself.
Some sources deplore the PSC’s approval of this draft, pointing out that it is closer to the positions expressed by the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, who supports Israel’s response despite the risk of catastrophe in Gaza, than that of the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, who recently noted that “we also have to condemn the deaths of civilians that occur in Gaza”.
The institutional declaration recalls at the beginning that the Parliament has spoken out on many occasions in favor of the two-state solution with an independent Palestine neighboring the State of Israel, as supported by the UN but places the origin of this new military escalation in “Massive Hamas attack against Israeli civilian and military targets.”
In addition to condemning this attack, the text makes an urgent call for a ceasefire that guarantees the protection of the civilian population, the release of the hostages held by Hamas, as well as the bombings in Gaza. The opening of safe humanitarian corridors is also called for so that humanitarian aid can reach the conflict zone.
Ultimately, the Catalan Chamber’s commitment to the recognition of human rights throughout the world and “with special emphasis, in the territories of Israelis and Palestinians” is reiterated and its violation in any of these territories is condemned.
