August 19, 2011 – Berlin -- Following a series of fatal terrorist attacks near Eilat that killed at least eight people and injured scores more, AJC is again urging the German government and parliament to step up efforts to prevent European support for UN recognition of a unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood.

“A Palestinian leadership that refuses to negotiate with Israel, and cooperates with terrorists, does not deserve UN recognition,” said Deidre Berger, Director of AJC Berlin. Yesterday’s terror attacks were coordinated by Hamas, according to Israeli security experts. Hamas, the terrorist organization that rules Gaza, reached an agreement of cooperation in May with Fatah, the ruling party in the West Bank. 

Germany’s opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD), in a proposed resolution on the peace process, calls on the German government to drop its opposition to UN recognition of a Palestinian state, and demands that Israel stop all settlement activity, which the SPD asserts is the main barrier to peace.

“The peace process has been halted by the Palestinian refusal to negotiate with Israel, eschew terror and recognize Israel as a Jewish state,” said Berger. “Israel needs assistance from Europeans to get the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, and not sermons from political parties.”

In a recent letter to SPD parliamentary whip Frank-Walter Steinmeier, AJC asked the party to retract the resolution, which is scheduled for debate in the German Parliament on September 9. The resolution puts the primary blame on Israel for the lack of progress in peace negotiations and asks the German government to upgrade the status of the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Berlin.

“We hope the SPD will shift from its unwarranted criticism of Israel, which is ready to negotiate with the Palestinians a permanent peace agreement, and acknowledge Israel’s towering security challenges, as evidenced by the latest terror attacks,” said Berger.

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