mr president i would like to welcome the statements from both the council and the commission but my question to them both is when are we are going to go beyond the fine words which i very much agree with when are we going to have real action
we have heard the same words over and again that we need to ensure that israel does this or does that but we need the real leverage to make that happen otherwise israel will simply ignore us as it continues to do
my question is what practically can you do to make sure that we see real movement and progress here
to my mind that has to involve issues like the suspension of the eu-israel association agreement
focusing on the situation in east jerusalem i welcome very much the swedish presidency's initiative and its clarity over the role of jerusalem as a capital of two states and your firmness about the importance of israel freezing its settlement activity in east jerusalem
i also pay tribute to the authors of the eu heads of mission report on east jerusalem itself
that report speaks with a clarity and vision which is all too often absent in these debates
it sets out how israel's policy of illegal annexation of east jerusalem is deliberately designed to weaken the palestinian community in the city and prevent palestinian development
but the heads of mission called on the council to adopt a whole range of recommendations as a result of that report and i believe that we need to see urgent action from the council to do exactly that
if the eu is serious about its commitment to a two-state solution it needs to be doing everything possible to preserve and strengthen the palestinian character and identity of east jerusalem
the heads of mission statement and report show practical ways of doing so
