Hon. George Vella, Chair of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean’s (PAM) Ad Hoc Committee on the Middle East, briefed Ambassadors resident in Malta on the mission to the Middle East by a high-level delegation led by PAM President, Hon. Rudy Salles.
Dr. Vella gave a detailed account of the visit, which took place from 18-21 May 2009, and also expressed his conclusions on the achievements of the meetings held during the four day visit to the area. First of all, Dr. Vella thanked all those who were instrumental in the organization of the visit, namely the Egyptian and Jordanian Parliaments, the Palestinian National Authority, the Knesset in Israel, the French Ambassador to Israel and UNRWA.
The delegation, Hon. Vella said, was particularly impressed by the extent of the destruction in Gaza. Most of the buildings are damaged, and people are still living in tents. “The destruction will stay for long, and the major problem is that almost nothing is allowed to enter,” Dr. Vella said, in line with information received from UN officials onsite.
While in Cairo, the delegation met with Hon. Ahmed Ben Helli, Deputy-Secretary General of the League of Arab States, who spoke with them on the organization’s role in both the Arab Peace Process and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Ambassador Robert Serry, High Commissioner of the United Nations Special Coordinator Office for the Middle East (UNSCO), later welcomed the members in Ramallah. He provided the parliamentarians with a firsthand picture of the situation on the ground.
In the course of the visit, the delegation had the privilege to be received by H.E. Ahmed Abou El Gheit, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, who discussed Egypt’s role in inter-Palestinian dialogue and efforts by his country in response to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, H.E. Riyad Al-Maliki, Minister of Information and Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Authority, who spoke on inter-Palestinian dialogue and the status of Jerusalem while lending his support to parliamentary diplomacy and H.E. Naser Judeh, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Jordan, who expanded upon the Arab peace initiative.
An important contact also met in Cairo was H.E. Ahmed Fathy Sorour, Speaker of the People’s Assembly of Egypt. With him, the delegates spoke on the current situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The PAM Bureau also held a working dinner in Amman with Hon. Abdulhadi Majali, Speaker of the Jordanian House of Representatives and current President of EMPA. On this occasion, Presidents Salles and Majali declared their intention for the two Assemblies to collaborate in a structured and regular manner. A joint declaration was issued to this effect.
While in Amman, the delegates also met with members of the Palestinian National Authority, including representatives of the Palestinian Legislative Council and the Palestinian National Council.
An important meeting was also held with H.E. Reuven Rivlin, Speaker of the Knesset, who reaffirmed Israel’s position on the major issues regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Dr. Vella concluded that the outcome of the mission will be submitted to the Bureau for evaluation and will then proceed with a series of recommendations to be passed on to the United Nations Secretary General, the European Union and the US Administration. Finally, it was once again reiterated that the PAM parliamentarians have the responsibility to exercise pressure on national governments for a proactive approach to the Middle East issue.