JERUSALEM, 14 February 2012 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Petros Efthymiou pushed for greater OSCE activity from Israeli parliamentarians and aimed to encourage peaceful dialogue between Palestinian and Israeli leaders amid changing dynamics in the region during two days of meetings in Jerusalem that ended today. Hosted by the Israeli Knesset and Speaker Reuven Rivlin, Efthymiou also met with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the Head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Shai Hermesh, alternate chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs Committee Meir Sheetrit, and other members of parliament and diplomats in Jerusalem. Efthymiou sought input regarding topics the OSCE should focus on to improve engagement with Mediterranean Partner countries. Ideas ranged from water management, desalination and solar energy to telecom infrastructure, a topic which has already shown to be a source of economic co-operation in the region. Speaker Rivlin called the OSCE among the most important organizations in the world and pledged greater participation from Members of the Knesset in Parliamentary Assembly election observation and other diplomatic missions. “Parliamentary diplomacy is key to developing lasting relationships and new bonds of trust needed to build a more free and secure Mediterranean region,” Efthymiou said. Foreign Minister Lieberman said the OSCE PA Bureau should come as a delegation to Israel and meet with Knesset counterparts, and Efthymiou agreed in principle to the idea as a means to strengthening OSCE involvement in the Mediterranean. The Assembly observed elections in Tunisia in 2010 and has increased its ties to the new institutions in Tunis since. Regarding stalled talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, Efthymiou urged a resumption of direct talks. “The Parliamentary Assembly supports a two-state solution, guaranteeing the security of the state of Israel and an independent Palestinian state,” Efthymiou said. “The solution must be just and fair to be viable." With support from Greek Consular General Sotirios Athanassiou, Efthymiou also met with Greek Orthodox Partriarch Theofolis III, and visited holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. During a visit to Yad Vashem, Efthymiou received a guided tour of the Holocaust Education Center and laid a wreath at the Hall of Remembrance. “We call on OSCE participating States to recommit themselves to the constant fight against discrimination and all acts of hate, whether they target one for their ethnicity, religion, race or sexual orientation,” he said. Efthymiou called the issue of Iran gaining nuclear arms “a key safety concern for the international community, not just Israel,” but called for patience to allow EU and US sanctions on Iran to be fully implemented. “It’s better to achieve our goal through peaceful means,” he said. “At the OSCE we believe the use of violence sometimes escalates the problem, doesn’t solve the problem.” Neil Simon, Director of Communications OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

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