(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BRUSSELS, May 24 (KUNA) -- The President of the European Parliament's (EP) Delegation for relations with Palestine, Manu Pineda called on Tuesday for evaluating of Israeli activities in the Palestinian territories in light of the recent ban on a visit by EP delegation to Palestine.
'We need an evaluation of the Israeli government's activities in the Palestinian territories, especially given the murder of (journalist) Shireen Abu Aqleh,' he told a press conference at the European Parliament in Brussels today.
The European Parliament's Palestine Delegation had scheduled an official mission to Palestine on May 23.
As President of the Delegation, the Spanish MEP said he was set to lead the mission, which included representatives from four EP parliamentary groups.
It aimed to assess the situation of the Palestinian population, and it was the Delegation's first mission following the COVID-19 pandemic and last year's war in Gaza.
Visits to Jerusalem, Ramallah, Hebron, Bethlehem, Nablus and the Gaza Strip were on the agenda, to meet civil society stakeholders, different political and institutional actors and media organizations to understand the situation following the assassination of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh.
'The composition of our mission to Palestine was reported to Israel since May 10,' he noted that on May 18, he requested an emergency point in the full session of the European Parliament to deal with the murder of Shireen Abu Aqleh. 'Israel then barred my entry,' he said.
For more than a decade, Israeli authorities have denied the European Parliament access to Gaza. This Sunday, 22 May, the Members of the European Parliament were once more not allowed to enter, said Pineda.
'Once again, Israel is putting the brakes on Parliament's attempts and work to assess the situation of the people in Palestine. It maintains its opacity about its human rights violations against the population of occupied Palestine,' he stated.
'The Israeli occupation cannot have control over access to Palestine. Nor can it stand in the way of the European Parliament's work to ensure that the Palestinian people are heard. Israel's obstruction of MEP work must have consequences,' he stressed.
He noted that about 50 Palestinian journalists have been killed in occupied Palestinian territories since the last 22 years, and he condemned 'Israel's apartheid policies.'
The European Parliament's Delegation for relations with Palestine has 18 full members and 13 substitute members and is responsible for maintaining and developing Parliament's contacts with Palestine.
The Delegation informs the European Parliament about Palestine, with an emphasis on EU policy and EU activities.
The Delegation holds regular meetings with Palestinian and international interlocutors on EU-Palestinian relations, on political, economic, and human rights developments in Palestine, and on regional issues such as, the Middle East Peace Process.
The European Parliament's first delegation for Palestine was created in November 1993 as an ad hoc delegation, after the Oslo accords were signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Following the emergence of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, a permanent - Delegation for relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council was set up on December 12, 1996.
The Delegation was renamed 'Delegation for relations with Palestine '(DPAL) on 9 September 2015, after the European Parliament's recognized Palestinian statehood on December 17, 2014. (end)
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