The Catalan Parliament's parliamentary party committee met this Wednesday at noon to vote on an institutional declaration on the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the events that have occurred in the Gaza Strip. After Together for Catalonia (Junts) and Ciudadanos (Cs) had last week separately tabled proposals for a joint declaration by the Catalan chamber, the parliamentary groups were urged to explore an agreement to try to make this text as consensual as possible. Finally, the agreement was only possible between Junts, Cs, the Catalan Socialists (PSC) and the People's Party (PP). The final text, to which ElNacional.cat has had access, includes much of the content of the Junts proposal, with the addition of a new element: an urgent call for a ceasefire to "guarantee the protection of the civilian population, the release of all hostages, a halt to armed attacks, cuts to basic services and bombings" in Gaza. It also called for the opening of safe humanitarian corridors that permit the immediate arrival of humanitarian aid.
Since Tuesday, the agreement between the Socialists, Junts and Cs was on track, but Junts wanted to incorporate the Republican Left (ERC) into the equation, which in the end voted against it in the parties committee because they wanted it to be made clear that Israel must comply with United Nations resolutions. As well, the spokesperson for En Comú Podem (Comuns), David Cid, regretted after the meeting that the PSC, Junts, Cs and the PP "refuse to condemn the bombings and the death of the Palestinian civilian population". "The PSC places Parliament on the side of Von der Leyen and not Josep Borrell", he stated. The Popular Unity Candidature (CUP) also rejected the agreed text. This Wednesday, the far-left pro-independence party has asserted that it is necessary to put an end to the "Israel's colonization" and denounced the "genocide and apartheid" that the country's practice against Palestine. The very different positions between the parties on this conflict already suggested that it would be difficult to reach a broad consensus.
The two-state solution
The statement that the PSC, Junts, Cs and the PP have signed - which will be read this Thursday in the plenary - notes that the Catalan Parliament "has shown itself on several occasions to have a majority in favour of the two-state solution as an option for a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Israel and Palestine". In this regard, it asserts that it is a path that has the support of the UN and the "majority of the international community". Regarding the Hamas attack on Israel, the text condemns that "the terrorist organization carried out a massive attack against civilian and military targets in Israel, causing a large number of fatalities and injuries in both Israel and Gaza." The conflict, says the approved text, has "acquired dimensions that are difficult to measure and has had repercussions throughout the Middle East, with a high risk of regional and global destabilization".
In addition, the signees stand in solidarity with "each and every victim" that the attack by Hamas caused and recognizes "the right of Israel to defend itself against these indiscriminate attacks within the limits set down by humanitarian law and international treaties". At the same time, the motion urges the parties in the conflict to "guarantee access to medical care, humanitarian assistance and the development necessary to cover the basic needs and rights of the civilian population". The use of force against the civilian population is also condemned: "It is never acceptable, no matter where it comes from, and all attacks against the civilian population must be condemned and those responsible held accountable in accordance with the norms of International Humanitarian Law". Finally, the text warns of "the regional consequences that a spiral of violence can have" and calls for "urgent work to prevent a regional escalation of the conflict".