Mercosul-Israel Agreement Reinforces Peace in the Middle East
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BPNIC Briefing, December 2007
The signing of a free trade agreement between
Mercosul
and Israel, and the recent
contribution of R$ 5.4 million from Brazil to the
Palestinian government’s economic reforms program,
reinforces peace, and equality in the Middle East, according
to the opinion of Husam Bajis, executive director of the
Brazilian Palestinian National Interest Committee.
"Brazil is an example where coexistence between Arabs and
Jews is peaceful, and it is likely that Brazilian diplomacy
will play an active role in peace negotiations in the coming
months", said Bajis.
According to the executive director of the committee, Brazil
should not expect a major breakthrough in
peace negotiations
between Palestinians and Israelis, unless Israel ends the
colonization and abandons the Occupied Territories.
However, Bajis is convinced the moment of opportunity to
achieve concrete progress in building the Palestinian state
is now and the participation of Brazil will give greater
legitimacy to the peace process.
"In the coming months, I am looking forward to the February
2008 visit of the Minister of State for Foreign Relations
Celso Amorim, to Ramallah, and also to the international
conference for monitoring of investors in the Palestinian
territories in March or April 2008, in
Bethlehem." |
