Swiss Arabs and Jews unite for peace
Arabs and Jews living in Switzerland have drawn up a manifesto calling for a resumption of the peace process and an end to the killings in the Middle East.
The “Manifesto for a Just Peace in the Middle East”, which has been signed by 400 people, was presented to Swiss parliamentarians on Wednesday.
“The aim of our manifesto is to show that some Jews and Arabs in Switzerland think it is necessary to relaunch the peace process,” Pierre Hazan, one of the initiators of manifesto, told swissinfo.
“We agree on a text which explicitly mentions a ‘double state solution’, strong condemnation of violations of human rights by the Israeli army and also of the terrorist attacks by some Palestinians on the Israeli population.”
A small step
Hazan admitted that the launch of the manifesto was a “little step on a very long march”. However, he warned that unless the process of reconciliation between Arabs and Jews got underway in Europe, “the problems of the Middle East will come to Europe”.
He pointed out that Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, had recently expressed concern over an increase in anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Semitic attacks in Europe over the past few months.
Hazan added that Swiss parliamentarians had reacted positively to the manifesto and had expressed a strong commitment to do something to improve the situation in the Middle East.
Geneva Conventions
“There is a real understanding that the situation which does exist in the Middle East cannot continue for ever, otherwise the situation will continue to escalate and people will continue to die,” said Hazan.
Ceasefire talks between Israeli and Palestinian security officials broke down early on Thursday despite pressure from the United Stated for the two sides to reach an agreement.
The meeting in Tel Aviv was overshadowed by Wednesday’s suicide bombing in northern Israel in which seven Israelis, including four soldiers, were killed.
Those behind the manifesto say they are hoping that Switzerland, as the depository of the Geneva Conventions, can play an instrumental role in ensuring that the conventions are applied in the Middle East.
“Switzerland has a specific tradition regarding humanitarian international law and I think there Switzerland can play a very positive role,” said Hazan.
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