The Council for European Palestinian Relations (CEPR) is a
not-for-profit organisation which advocates for Palestinians' rights in Europe. The organisation was banned in December 2013 from Israel by Defense Minister
Moshe Ya’alon, saying the organization serves as Hamas’ representative in Europe. The Israeli ban extends to the members of CEPR, that includes four European MPs.
Dr Arafat Shoukri, the director of the organisation, said that CEPR will take legal action against the Israeli decision. He claimed that the decision of the Israel defense minister is based on false accusations and has no shred of truth, and they will challenge it through legal means. On its website the organization claims that it "is working to improve the dialogue between Europe and the Arab world, with the objective of restoring Palestinian rights in accordance with international law, as part of a just solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
[
The director of CEPR is Arafat Shoukri, a resident of London. The organization is registered in ]Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and has offices in Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
Aims and activities
The CEPR is engaged in political lobbying
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
work across Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
, particularly the European and British Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...
s.
According to the CEPR's website, the aim of the CEPR’s work is to increase understanding of the Palestine issue and related Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
ern issues in Europe and to increase dialogue between European, Arab and Middle Eastern politicians.
The CEPR focuses on taking parliamentary delegations to the Middle East while meeting with Hamas leadership in the area. In 2010, the CEPR was involved in taking a large number of European parliamentarians to the Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
and Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
on the anniversary of 'Operation Cast Lead
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
’. The delegation, the biggest ever to Gaza, was led by British Labour MP Gerald Kaufman and included over 50 parliamentarians of 13 European countries. The visit included meetings with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians displaced by the 1948 P ...
(UNRWA), Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh
Ismail Abdel Salam Ahmed Haniyeh; sometimes transliterated as Haniya, Haniyah, or Hanieh (born 29 January 1962) is a senior political leader of Hamas and formerly one of two disputed Prime Ministers of the Palestinian National Authority. Hani ...
of Hamas, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit
Ahmed Aboul Gheit ( ar, أحمد أبو الغيط , also: Abu al-Ghayt, Abu El Gheyt, etc.) (born 12 June 1942) is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who has been Secretary-General of the Arab League since July 2016. He was reappointed for a s ...
and Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa
Amr Moussa ( ar, عمرو موسى, , Amr Muhammad Moussa; born 3 October 1936) is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who was the Secretary-General of the Arab League, a 22-member forum representing Arab states, from 1 June 2001 to 1 July 201 ...
.
In October 2010, the CEPR took a delegation of parliamentarians from the European, British, Scottish and Polish parliaments to the West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
and Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
. The trip included meetings with Hamas representatives in the Palestinian Legislative Council seeking sanctuary at the International Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
, UNRWA Director John Ging
John Ging (born 1965), an Irish national, was appointed as Director of the Operational Division at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in New York in February 2011. He oversees the management of all OCHA field opera ...
and Jordanian Prime Minister Samir al-Rifai
Samir al-Rifai ( ar, سمير الرفاعي; 30 January 1901 – 12 October 1965) was Jordanian politician. He served several terms as the 8th Prime Minister of Jordan. He was born in Safed.
Al-Rifai served under Kings Abdullah I, Talal a ...
and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.
Between 6-9 February 2011 the CEPR was the co-organiser of a delegation of seven European parliamentarians to Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
, where they met with senior government figures including President Suleiman and Prime Minister Designate Mikati and visited the Palestinian refugee camps Bourj el-Barajneh
Bourj el-Barajneh ( ar, برج البراجنة, lit=Tower of Towers) is a municipality located in the southern suburbs of Beirut, in Lebanon. The municipality lies between Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport and the town of Haret Hrei ...
, Nahr al-Bared
Nahr al-Bared ( ar, نهر البارد, literally: Cold River) is a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon, 16 km from the city of Tripoli. Some 30,000 displaced Palestinians and their descendants live in and around the camp, which ...
and Shatila.
Following the popular uprising
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
in Egypt in February 2011, the CEPR organised a delegation there to meet organisations likely to have a role to play in the forming of a new look Egyptian government and to engage with them on the issue of ending the blockade of the Gaza Strip. The CEPR has in the past held meetings with EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana
Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga (; born 14 July 1942) is a Spanish physicist and PSOE politician. After serving in the Spanish government as Foreign Affairs Minister under Felipe González (1992–1995) and as the Secretary General of NA ...
, President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek and President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.
The CEPR also prepares research briefs for parliamentarians and for download on their website.
Leadership
The director of CEPR is Arafat Shoukri, who is also the executive director of the Palestinian Return Centre.
Notwithstanding, on several occasions Shoukri has denied being a Hamas advocate. An article posted by Haaretz reports Shoukri declaring: “The CEPR is a non profit organisation and is not affiliated to any political party whether inside or outside Palestine.” However, Shoukri played a prominent role in the negotiations to include Hamas-controlled Gaza into the political process aimed to reach a peaceful agreement between Israel and the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority.
The Comité de Bienfaisance et de secours aux Palestiniens (CBSP) was designated a terrorist entity in 2003 by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Controversy
Hamas was included in the blacklist EU-designated terrorist groups in 2003, but the European Union later withdrew the designation in December 2014. Hamas is still banned by Jordan and designated a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, Israel, and Japan.
CEPR was outlawed by Israel in December 2013. As a consequence, the Israeli authorities are authorized to confiscate CEPR’s money and to try its members, associates and contributors. Among the implications of the 2013 designation as an “illicit association” is that four European members of Parliament who are also members of CEPR are in danger of arrest on entering Israel. An article recently published by The Independent revealed that the European members of Parliament involved were the British Labour member of European Parliament Richard Howitt, the German representative Alexandra Thein, Swiss member of Parliament Geri Müller and British member of Parliament Norman Warner. Norman Warner was “was a health minister in Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government, and now serves on the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Palestine.” According to the same article, Clare Short, the former British International Development Secretary who resigned in 2003, could also be arrested as she was a prominent member of CEPR at the time of the CEPR’s designation.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official website
International organizations based in the Middle East