LOC17:41
14:41 GMT
BRUSSELS, June 28 (KUNA) -- President of the Group of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament, Gianni Pittella, lamented Wednesday that after 50 years of Israeli occupation and almost 25 years after the Oslo Accords, a silent tacit approval of the stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seems to prevail.
"Fifty years after the Six-Day War, we have to say it clear and loud: the occupation of Palestine must come to an end and a just and lasting peace must be achieved between Israelis and Palestinians, and between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East," he said in a conference on the Middle East Peace Process hosted by S&D in the European Parliament on Wednesday.
"Our conference today is a unique opportunity for discussion among progressives on how we can best contribute to keeping the hope of peace in the Middle East alive," Pittella added.
On her part, S&D Group vice-president Elena Valenciano believed that the time has come for the European Union (EU) to play a genuine political role in this process, she stated, "This is not only a matter of existing or non-existing countries: this is about a people that have been suffering for 70 years of conflict and 50 years of occupation".
Speakers from, Palestine, Europe, the United States and Israel are attending the two-day conference. (end)
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