Fifteen MEPs from the European Parliament's foreign affairs, development and humanitarian aid committees arrived in Israel on Monday (24 May) and are due to cross into the Gaza strip tomorrow, from Egyptian territory.
21 MEPs had originally planned to make the trip, but their number was later reduced, with a few EPP members changing plans.
Although it had tentatively been arranged, a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and Avidgor Liberman, the country's foreign minister, was later cancelled, EurActiv learned from the Parliament delegation.
Instead, they will meet with deputies. Another meeting with Israeli President Moshe Katsav was also cancelled. Apparently, the downgrade represents Israel's retaliation for the MEPs' visit to the Gaza strip, which is taking place against Tel Aviv's will (see 'Background').
After fierce internal discussions regarding the programme, centre-right MEP Gabriele Albertini (European People's Party; Italy), head of the delegation and chair of the Parliament's foreign affairs committee, stepped down from the team, labelling the planned trip "an anti-Israel propaganda mission".
Following his withdrawal, the Parliament delegation is being chaired by Antonio Panzeri (Socialists & Democrats, Italy), a member of the foreign affairs committee (AFET).
Committee chair under attack
Albertini, together with colleagues from the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), was of the view that the MEPs should comply with Israel's insistence that visiting Gaza was inappropriate. In a leaked internal email, he even accused most of his colleagues of anti-Israel bias.
This provoked fury among Albertini's colleagues, who accused him of bowing to pressure from the Israeli Embassy in deciding which Palestinian representatives the MEPs should meet.
A number of MEPs, such as Ulrike Lunacek (Greens; Germany) and Göran Färm (S&D; Sweden), even called for his resignation from the committee.
However, a number of EPP delegates, such as former Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering (Germany) and Alain Lamassoure (France), who chairs the budget committee, stayed in the delegation and are due to make the controversial visit to Gaza.
Buzek letter opens Rafah crossing
The visit was made possible after Parliament President Jerzy Buzek, also EPP-affiliated, wrote a letter to the Egyptian authorities asking for access to Gaza at the Rafah crossing point (see 'Background'), which was granted.
MEPs are expected to leave Israel for Cairo by plane today, and will reach Gaza tomorrow morning by bus.
The MEPs argue that the visit to Gaza cannot be cancelled because the EU spends hundreds of millions of euros on aid for Gaza.
