"Resuming talks and segregating the extremists". This was asked for by Hans-Gert Poettering, president of the European Parliament, as he opened yesterday a debate from the floor on the situation in Gaza, at the end of which all the MEPs condemned the violence committed by both sides and asked to resume talks. Poettering began by stating that the only response to violence in the Middle East is "to speed up the peace talks" and that the process started by Annapolis "must not surrender to the terrorists". Then, in expressing his sympathy with the victims of the raids in Gaza and the terrorist attack against the Israeli school, he highlighted the importance of protecting human life, as sanctioned by international law. Then he condemned Hamas for the terrorist attack and invited Israel to listen to "the voices of the Palestinians who are asking for peace". In addition, he asked to stop launching rockets over Israel. Security, he insisted, "is possible only if Israelis and Palestinians try the way of reconciliation". Then, in recalling the importance of supplying emergency humanitarian aids and the EU’s contribution in this respect, he invited Israel to support such efforts. But European support, he warned, "must not come to nothing. We have to do all we can to support our financial aids with political consistency".” “
