After the 23 days� war of aggression that was launched by the mightiest military power in the Middle East against the most vulnerable and most densely populated place on earth, a delegation of high-ranking European leaders visited occupied Jerusalem, and met in a remarkably cordial atmosphere with the Israeli prime minister who was responsible for the atrocities in the Gaza Strip. The meeting took place at the same time when the cries of the victims could still be heard. Following the meeting in Jerusalem, European Union foreign ministers met in Brussels with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, who had effectively announced the launch of the war on Gaza.

The war resulted in the killing of innocent children, women, and elderly people, and the injury to thousands of unarmed civilians. The violations did not exempt United Nations installations, hospitals, ambulance and rescue crews and even journalists.

European countries have also objected to efforts seeking to condemn Israeli war crimes in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), at the same time when the Israeli aggression was continuing.

The actions by the leaders of Europe have sent the wrong signal to the perpetrators of the atrocities and have called into question Europe's credibility on issues of human rights. The position of the European leaders was seen as a legitimisation of the aggression against on the Palestinian people.

It is without doubt that we are witnessing developments that are not at all encouraging, in terms of supporting the rights of peoples, their liberty, and human dignity. It has become abundantly clear that European officials continue to hold positions that are extremely biased in favour of the Israeli side.

We, with many of our partners in European societies, including those hundreds of thousands who protested daily, despite the festive season, holidays, and severe cold, across the continent over the past weeks against the crimes of the Israeli war, note an alarming deterioration in European foreign policy, in which Europe loses, quite sadly, every day much of its moral capital in the world, by choosing to side with the Israeli power, at the expense of rights and justice.

In this way, European decision-makers appear in the eyes of the Palestinian victims as those who have chosen to stand by the oppressor against the weak and oppressed.

The statements calling for contributions to reconstruction of Gaza, alone, will not be successful in salvaging the tarnished image of the European leadership. Moral and humanitarian duty obliges European officials to spare no effort in using their influence to stop the aggression and mitigate the suffering rather than appearing as magnanimous donors, yet powerless to intervene.

Europe has undeniable historical responsibility with regard to the conflict in the Middle East and the denial of the Palestinian people of their right to sovereignty over their land.

We and others had hoped that European officials today would play a noble role in ensuring justice for oppressed people. We still hope for a corrective action. The strength of the European position comes from its balance and its harmony with human rights. These are values and norms for which generations of people on this continent have sacrificed themselves.

Granting free rein to the vicious Israeli war machine to kill and destroy has taken the region farther away from peace, and added greater fuel for further conflict. It is essential for us to understand that peace cannot be made through the hegemony of force or through subjugating people and stripping them of their humanity.

We, in regard to the above, demand that the leaders and foreign ministers of European Union States:

We see these demands as areas of constant concern and advocacy, until a positive response to the logic of rights, fairness, and justice for the victims is achieved.

Signatory organisations: