FM Malki: Another Defeat of Israeli Diplomacy in the European Union

Brusels, MINA – The Israeli diplomacy has received another defeat in the European Union after the European Parliament rejected a draft resolution on Palestinian education submitted by a group from the Christian Democratic Party that called on the European Commission and the United Nations to monitor Palestinian textbooks and introduce necessary amendments to remove “incitement against Israel and dissemination of a culture of hate against Jews,” WAFA reported, citing Foreign Minister Riyad Malki Wednesday.

Malki said that this new defeat comes after the crushing defeat of Israel this morning in the European Parliament, which voted overwhelmingly against a proposal to reduce European aid to the education sector in Palestine and the adoption of another resolution calling for providing additional European financial assistance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the amount of 22 million euros for this year.

An Israeli organization has filed false reports to the parliament on Palestinian textbooks. A draft resolution was submitted to the European Parliament, which was followed up by the Palestine mission to the European Union with the members of parliament and presented studies and evidence to prove that the Israeli propaganda was incorrect.

The Parliament voted on the draft resolution this evening, with 300 votes against the bill and 159 in favor.

Commenting on the vote, the representative of the Socialist bloc in the European Parliament said that the EU should review the Israeli textbooks that encourage violence and settlements and urge violence against Palestinian civilians.

Malki said, “We waged a fierce diplomatic battle that led to a painful defeat for the third time in one day for Israeli diplomacy and its allies who are seeking to besiege the Palestinian Authority financially and diplomatically by dragging the European Union to cut aid to it.”

He said that the position of the European Parliament is crucial because it sends a clear political message that the European Union refuses to run behind the United States and that it remains committed to the two-state solution based on the terms of reference of the peace process and that it continues to provide the necessary financial support to UNRWA until a just and lasting solution to the refugee issue is found. T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)