mr president i refer to the letter from the israeli ambassador mr curiel to the chair of our human rights subcommittee
it was my intention to welcome and indeed endorse his declaration that we should be prepared to support the principle of transparency in the funding of organisations
we would expect that here and why not in israel too
then my eyes turned to one of the last paragraphs of his letter where he expressed his resentment to any comparison being made between pluralistic israeli civil society and some other countries
he uses these words embarking on such a wrong path may lead us all to dwell on europe's own credentials past and present
if that is not a reference to the holocaust i do not know what is
the implications are clear you europeans do not have the right to criticise israel because of your past
you have blood on your hands
i was not responsible for the actions of the nazis
i was not born at the time most of the rest of us here were not born then and this european union was established to try and ensure that evil of that kind never took place again
i resent the idea that we have to turn a blind eye to israel's appalling behaviour in gaza the economic blockade the occupation of palestinian territory and infringements of human rights all too often
i resent the idea that we should be forced not to ask why a people which suffered so much in previous centuries should now inflict such suffering upon the palestinian people today
