Liverpool Questions to candidates

Thanks to [Liverpool Friends of Palestine] for the questionnaire below

To all European Parliamentary Election Candidates

This questionnaire has been sent to you from a number of organisations which call for a

just peace in Palestine and Israel.

Your answers and an analysis of them will be sent to the following groups for dissemination to their members and networks: Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, CND, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Muslim Associations, War on Want, national Justice and Peace networks, Trade Unions, Women to Women for Peace, Friends of Sabeel, Pax Christi , Amos Trust, Christian Aid and British Universities.

Please answer the following questions, by ticking Yes or No and add comments if you feel the need at the end of the questionnaire or on a separate sheet.

1. Do you agree that:

a. Britain and the EU as liberal democracies should always respect and adhere

to international laws and human rights law

b. Britain and the EU are bound by international law, which requires that the

Geneva Conventions are upheld and applied consistently

Yes No

2. Are you aware that under international law:

a. Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Occupied Territories is illegal

(UN Security Council Resolution 242 and others)

b. Israeli settlements and the transfer of Israeli population into the Palestinian

Occupied Territories are illegal. (1979 UN Security Council Resolutions

446 and numerous others, Hague Regulations, Article 49 of Fourth Geneva

Convention, Ruling of the International Court of Justice 2004)

c. The Separation Wall on Palestinian land is illegal. (ICJ 2004)

Yes No

3. Do you agree that:

a. The blockade of Gaza constitutes collective punishment and is therefore

illegal

b. The indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza was illegal as it contravenes the

Geneva Conventions, as does the targeting of medics and hospitals,

attacking civilians and wanton destruction of property (Fourth Geneva

Convention 1949, the first additional protocol to the Geneva Convention of

1977, and the Hague Regulations of 1907 that regulate means and methods

of warfare)

c. Under the above conventions, the use of white phosphorous bombs and

DIME in densely populated areas is illegal

Yes No

4. If elected / re-elected, will you support the demand for an independent

international inquiry on war crimes and crimes against humanity of which Israel

stands accused by human rights NGOs since the December 2008-Jan 2009 war?

Yes No

5. Do you recognise that:

a. Britain and the EU are guilty of reneging on their declared principles in

disregarding UN Resolutions, Article 2 (concerning shared values) and

Article 83 (prohibiting importing settlement goods into the EU) of the Israel-

EU Association Agreement, and Article2 of the Barcelona Agreement

(concerning respect for human rights).

b. Britain and the EU are practising double standards in their Middle East

policy by applying sanctions and/or war threats to some Arab or Muslim

countries for violations of international laws and human rights laws, but

giving favourable trading rights and selling arms and arms components to

Israel

Yes No

6. If elected / re-elected are you prepared to:

a. Condemn the Israeli occupation and theft of Palestinian land, demolition of

Palestinian homes, destruction of Palestinian farm land, the construction of

the Separation Wall on Palestinian Land and the construction of Settlements

and infrastructure for Jews only

b. Condemn Israeli extra-judicial killings of Palestinians and the arbitrary

detention of over 10,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails.

c. Back those condemnations (until Israel complies with international laws) and

human rights laws by calling for:

i) sanctions on Israel

ii) the suspension of the EU-Israel Trade Association Agreement

iii) the suspension of all arms trading, including arms components, with

Israel

iv) an inquiry on discrimination against Palestinians living in Israel

including Jerusalem

v) an inquiry into the situation of political prisoners and the lengthy

arbitrary administrative detention of many of them including elected

Parliamentarians.

d. Request that from now on, every agreement between the EU and Israel

clearly states:

i) that implementation will depend on observance of international law

which will be monitored by a special human rights committee set up

specifically for the purpose

ii) the refusal of any legitimisation of the settlements or any links with

them and the demand for their dismantling

Yes No

7. Do you agree that:

a. Under international law, pre-emptive strikes are illegal

b. An Israeli attack on Iran would be illegal, will cause much further instability

in the Middle East, is likely to increase international terrorism and is therefore

not in the interest of Britain, the West and the wider world

Yes No

8. Will you pledge to oppose an invasion of Iran?

Yes No