Formation of Palestinian government important step in the right direction
Formation of Palestinian government important step in the right direction
SP Senator Tiny Kox has described the formation of a new Palestinian government as ‘a very important step in the right direction’. The new government can count on support both on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip and can now begin preparations for presidential and parliamentary elections.
The formation of the new government brings to an end the bitter conflict between the two Palestinian regions. National reconciliation is one of the obligations which Palestine took on board when in 2011 it became, on a proposal from Senator Kox, a special partner of the Council of Europe. Reconciliation also makes another of the obligations possible: the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections in the next six months and the revitalisation of the Palestinian parliament.
In Gaza, Hamas established, seven years ago, its own administration, subverting the authority of the official Palestinian government in Ramallah. All attempts to heal the breach had until now failed. Kox, who from 2011 to April of this year acted as rapporteur to the Council of Europe for relations with Palestine, praised the determination of the Palestinians to continue searching for a solution to the conflict. ‘Everyone understands that a government which is supported both on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip is necessary to make Palestine stronger,’ he said, ‘including in the negotiations with Israel to bring an end to the occupation and in establishing an independent Palestinian state, one which would at last be able to exist in peace and prosperity alongside Israel.’
Senator Kox has offered his congratulations to the delegation of Palestinians MPs in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, while SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel will urge Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans to recognise that the new government will be a fully-fledged partner in talks with the Netherlands.