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Press Release :
Brussels, 26 December 2001
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Mr Arafat's visit to Bethlehem prevented by the Israeli Government - Nicole FONTAINE condemns attack on religious goodwill gesture
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'I deeply deplore the Israeli Government's decision to prevent Mr Arafat, the President of the Palestinian Authority, elected by his people and recognised by the international community, from going to Bethlehem to carry out, as he has done every year since 1995, an act of religious goodwill towards Christians celebrating the birth of Christ.
This is a serious attack on the sacrosanct right to religious freedom, to which the Jewish community itself is so rightly attached, and on everything which Christmas represents for Christians.
Restricting religious freedom as a means of exerting politicial pressure is the first step towards a type of action from which the Jewish community, more than any other, has suffered in past centuries, sometimes with horrific consequences.
Such a provocative decision cannot help to combat terrorism or to guarantee Israel's security. Nor can it restore dialogue, which is essential to the peace process.
Europeans have the deepest sympathy for the Israeli people in the face of indiscriminate attacks which brutally claim the lives of innocent people. However, their sympathy will in all probability diminish as a result of such decisions, because of the type of action taken to combat terrorism and the escalation of reckless measures, which are increasingly likely to set ablaze this country, sacred to the three major monotheistic religions'.
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Press enquiries: Jacques NANCY, President's Spokesman
TEL : +32-2.284.24.85 - GSM : +32-476.969.672 - FAX : +32-2.284.49.73 - E-MAIL : jnancy@europarl.europa.eu
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