The Palestinians will press the European Union for "active protection" against what was termed the "Israeli siege" in the Palestinian territories, a Palestinian official said in France Wednesday.
Arriving for a two-day meeting of the EuroMed partnership, Nabil Shaath, the Palestinian Authority's minister for international cooperation, told reporters, "We expect Europe to listen carefully to the Arab side, particularly to the Palestinians."
Referring to fighting which has left 223 dead, the vast majority of them Palestinians, since violence broke out in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Israel on September 28, Shaath said, "This is destroying the Barcelona Process," the 1995 cooperation accord between the EU and its non-EU Mediterranean neighbors.
"We need Europe to listen and take a strong stand against the Israeli siege," he said. "We are hoping for a strong statement and action (by the EuroMed conference) to save the peace process.
"We want protection for the Palestinian people. We expect the Barcelona Process to actively protect the Palestinian people," he said.
Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine of France, which holds the current EU presidency and is hosting the EuroMed meeting, has said the opening dinner Wednesday night will be entirely devoted to discussing solutions to the Middle East violence -- MARSEILLE, France (AFP)
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