Debate contributions by Catarina MARTINS

Madam President, tens of thousands of people have been killed, especially women and children, hospitals and schools destroyed, in Gaza they are killing bombs, starvation and disease. The UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine states that Israel has deliberately distorted basic principles of international law such as the distinction between civilians and combatants and the principle of proportionality. Israel is bombing the areas it has designated as safe, we are witnessing genocide. The European Union has special responsibilities, it maintains an association agreement with Israel. It is also the weapons and European money that kill in Gaza. Everybody's watching. Everyone is seeing double standards in their commitment to human rights and international law. A debate on the situation in Gaza at the beginning of the parliamentary term gives credibility to the European Parliament. We therefore propose adding a debate on upholding international humanitarian law in Gaza as the first item on this afternoon's agenda.