15038/1/08 REV 1 (Presse 309)
P 135
(OR.fr)
Brussels, 31 October 2008 - The European Union once again condemns in the strongest possible terms the acts of violence and brutality committed against Palestinian civilians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
It is unacceptable that the olive harvest - which is vital to the economy of the Palestinian territories and the Palestinians' other activities - should be thus disrupted by this upsurge in violent and illegal acts.
The European Union would point out that it is up to the Israeli Government, which has itself condemned these acts, to take the necessary measures to stop them immediately, in accordance with its international obligations.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and Armenia align themselves with this declaration.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.