Avraham Burg, President of the Israeli Knesset and Ahmed Qurie, President of the Palestinian Legislative Council, having met in Paris on Wednesday, 23 January 2002 , at the invitation of Raymond Forni , President of the French National Assembly and being aware of the seriousness of the situation and of the specific responsibility on the shoulders of the elected representatives of the people in the search for peace, launch an appeal for reason and good sense in order to restore confidence between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.

They request :

• the end of all violence and all incitement to violence ;

• the implementation of a stable cease-fire ;

• the immediate implementation of both the George Tenet Plan and the recommandations of the Mitchell Report ;

• the adoption of confidence-self building measures, implying the relaunching of all the joint Israeli-Palestinian commissions ;

• finally and most importantly, the resumption of negociations on intermediary and final status in order to allow the relaunching of the peace process.

The Presidents appeal to both people to show courage and generosity in their support of the peace process. They call on the International Community and in particular, the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia, to work in concertation toward a peace which will ensure the stability of the region and the right of the two peoples to live with a sense of security in democratic states and within stable and recognized borders.

The President of the Palestinian Legislative Council repeated his invitation to the President of the Knesset to carry out a reciprocal visit to Ramallah during a plenary session in order to adress the Palestinian representatives and to attempt to restore confidence and thus achieve an end to hostilities. The President of the Knesset accepted this invitation.

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Opening address by the Chairman of the French National Assembly, Mr. Raymond Forni,
Colloquium "For a European initiative in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – the urgency of political dialogue"
in the presence of the Speaker of the Knesset, Mr. Avraham Burg,
and the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Mr. Ahmed Qurei,
at the National Assembly, Salle Lamartine, Wednesday, January 23^rd, 2002 at 2:30 PM

Messrs. Speakers,
Ladies and Gentlemen, members of Parliament,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,

It is a great honor for me, in the name of all the members of Parliament, to bid a very warm welcome to the Speaker of the Knesset, Mr. Avraham Burg, and the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Mr. Ahmed Qurei, and to open this colloquium devoted to the extremely disturbing situation in the Middle East.

I am particularly happy that so many of you – legislators, journalists, and ordinary citizens – have responded to our invitation. Your presence shows the importance you place – which we all place – on dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, so essential for the future of the Middle East and of the world. It also shows the brotherhood between the Israeli, Palestinian, and French peoples and the strong ties uniting France and that region of the world.

I would also like to thank Mr. Miguel Angel Moratinos, the special envoy of the European Union for the Middle East, whose presence bears witness to the profound interest of the European Union in the Middle East and the future of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.

Messrs. Speakers, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It has been sixteen months since violent confrontations again broke out. A terrible toll has been taken : more than 1,200 dead, nearly 10,000 injured. Whatever the circumstances, no one can accept the sight of more Israelis and Palestinians killed and injured every day.

The terrible images of the confrontations, broadcast almost live by television all over the world, leave their mark on our minds and recall – as if it needed to be recalled – that violence in all its forms is unacceptable. In the first days of the crisis, French legislators from the majority and from the opposition alike expressed their deep concern and disapproval of the continuation of the violence.

Our Assembly condemns the repeated violence without reservation and reaffirms its rejection of the extremist behavior that has provided an opportunity for those who threaten the peace and the future of the region to do their sinister work of destruction by encouraging fear and hatred.

These confrontations are all the more distressing because peace between Israelis and Palestinians seemed closer than ever at the start of the year 2000.

At the urging of the United States, supported by France and the European Union, each of the parties, at the Camp David summit in July, 2000, made courageous gestures toward the other. Those discussions inspired hope of an event that the world has been awaiting for more than fifty years: peace between Israel and the State of Palestine.

The current situation is therefore an enormous step backwards. The absence of any political prospects encourages the continuation of the confrontation and plays into the hands of the extremists. Mistrust, fear, and resentment, unfortunately, too often lead to radicalization and violence.

But it is not enough to condemn the violence. We must resist it by means of an active response, based on a positive approach to the Israeli and Palestinian societies – both of whom, as we know, want peace. Because it has never ceased believing in the chance for peace and in the role legislators can play in bringing peoples together, the National Assembly, more than ever, desires to meet with and to listen to the Israeli and Palestinian political representatives and the societies as a whole.

The French deputies have long-standing ties with their Israeli and Palestinian counterparts, who to my mind are precious contributors to the service of peace.

It is our conviction that, despite deep mutual incomprehension, the chances for peace between Israelis and Palestinians have not been totally lost. We call on them to immediately re-open the process of negotiation, without prerequisites or conditions, on the basis of the recommendations of the Mitchell Report.

We ask that they do all in their power to preserve the progress made at the Madrid Conference in 1991 and in the Oslo Accords of 1993. The principle of land for peace, of the formation of a viable Palestinian State, and an end to the occupation of the Territories must be reaffirmed.

The Israeli people must be guaranteed the right to live in peace and in complete security within internationally recognized borders. The Palestinian Authority must do everything in its power, in particular by apprehending and rendering harmless all those responsible for violent acts and operations against Israel and its population. If it can aid in pacifying the situation, we would also be favorable to the creation of an international peacekeeping force.

We are all aware that only a negotiated solution can satisfy the hope and the desire of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples for peace and security.

There is no other way, no other choice, than to resume the process of negotiating the peace for which Israelis and Palestinians, in recent years, have overcome so many obstacles that were considered for so long to be insurmountable.

It is in this spirit that we, members of both the majority and the opposition, are very pleased to receive you today, Messrs. Speakers – united in the pursuit of a single goal: understanding between the peoples of the Middle East.

Needless to say, the quest for peace is first of all the responsibility of the parties themselves, through dialogue and negotiation. We know that, in the current climate, this has become difficult. In order to help them, our National Representation must make itself available and open to both parties, to support and to accompany any initiative in the direction of peace.

Israelis and Palestinians need a dialogue that has been revivified, renovated, reinvented, in contact with the world. They need a true dialogue between civilizations, one which reinforces classical diplomacy by acting as a crucible for ideas and consensus. Legislators can and must contribute to it.

Is it possible to believe that the one true God whom both Israelis and Palestinians recognize, not only in their private beliefs, but as a guide to the affairs of their States, could have willed these massacres between the sons of Abraham? Is it not true that God, in this land revered as holy by both your communities, has great need of man if peace is finally to prevail there?

That, Messrs. Speakers, is the message I wish to deliver to you, in the name of this National Assembly: that of our commitment to marshal all our energy, all the strength of our belief, and all our faith in your two peoples.

Your task will not be an easy one. The challenge is great. But there is no alternative. The expectations of the Israeli and Palestinian people and of the international community are immense. Today’s meeting is only one stage in the process. You have come here to work together, to compare your points of view and to seek common ground, in order to prepare for the dialogue we so wholeheartedly wish for between your two peoples and give it every chance of success. I invite you to make full use of this opportunity.

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Lunch speach address by the Chairman of the French National Assembly, Mr. Raymond Forni,
to both the Speaker of the Knesset, Mr. Avraham Burg,
and the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Mr. Ahmed Qurei,
at the National Assembly, Salle Lamartine, Wednesday, January 23^rd, 2002 at 2:30 PM

Messrs Speakers,
Ladies and Gentlemen, members of Parliament
Excellencies,
Dear Friends,

First of all, I would like to express the pleasure and emotion we feel today, as members of Parliaments and as citizens, in welcoming the Speakers of the Israeli and Palestinian Parliaments.

The very fact that you are here today, sitting at the same table, proves how helpful Parliaments can be in reuniting peoples.

We, as members of Parliament, know what we have in common. We share the same ideals and values our institutions are based upon, which are those of freedom, human rights, solidarity, tolerance and peace.

As Chairman of this Assembly, I have welcomed many foreign delegations. But never as much as today have I experienced such a useful, essential, if not vital meeting.

Thanks to you, Messrs Speakers, our three assemblies have established and developped closer links, creating friendship, mutual respect and mutual understanding. Let me pay tribute to your constant endeavour to bring our Parliaments together. By placing relations with our country at the heart of the international actions of your assemblies, you have made them a model of inter-parliamentary relations.

The members of the Friendship groups as well as the civil servants exchange views frequently to enlarge bilateral cooperation. And I wish to express my gratitude to Colette Avital, Marouan Bargouti, Martine David and Didier Mathus for their unwearying effort in favour of a close friendship between our peoples.

Messrs Speakers,

We even more appreciate the significance of your joint visit since it occurs in an extremely serious context.

For sixteen months now, violence has been tearing apart the relationship between Israel and Palestine. And violence leads to violence even as the international community continues to call for peace. Absence of a political prospective is encouraging the continuation of confrontation and is playing into the hands of extremists.

Opponents from both sides to the peace process rely on our discouragement. But we will not resign ourselves to witnessing the confrontation between Israel and Palestine. That is the reason why I wished we could meet to consider how the talks can be resumed and how the peace process which had improved so much, can be restored.

In spite of a painful and worrying situation, you have both agreed to debate in the French National Assembly. I feel that your participation is highly significant.

Be sure that all the deputies, from the Government and the opposition, appreciate your joint action in favour of peace and against hatred. We must seize this opportunity to prove that everything is possible, and that dialogue can replace violence.

Messrs Speakers, we are glad to welcome you both today for the sake of peace sake in the hope of bringing the Israeli and Palestinian peoples together. We must continue working for peace and carry on our efforts to support those who are fighting for it.

I trust in our common will to succeed. Please, Ladies and Gentlemen, let us be upstanding to welcome M. Avraham Burg, Speaker of the Knesset, and M. Ahmed Qurei, Speaker of the Legislative Council of Palestine and let us celebrate the friendship between the peoples of Israel, Palestine and France.