To the kind attention of:

MP David Milliband, the Foreign Secretary
MP Kim Howells, Minister of State for the Middle East
UK Ambassador Tom Phillips
Consul-General: Richard Edward Makepeace

Bruxelles, 19th September 2009

 All Excellencies,

According to an article in the British daily paper The Guardian, the British Foreign Service is currently planning to rent real estate in Tel Aviv from the Africa Israel Investments Company.

As you know this company is owned by Lev Leviev, whose investments are involved in the illegal settlements construction in West Bank, destroying Palestinian communities like in the villages of Jayyous, and Bil'in, and around Bethlem and Jerusalem.

Taking into consideration the fact that settlements construction in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, including East Jerusalem, is illegal according to the International law, as well as reiterated by the EU and the Quartet statements, and a clear violation of UN resolutions, I firmly support the appeal of Adalah -NY The coalition for Justice in the Middle East and other NGOs calling your Government not to rent any real estate from Lev Leviev's companies.

I am deeply convinced that the settlements expansion and its consequences (confiscation of Palestinian land, destruction of Palestinian olive groves, disintegration of Palestinian unity) represent not only a hard obstacle for the peace process but also the destruction of any chance for a sustainable peace for both Palestinians and Israelis.

Sincerely,
Luisa Morgantini
Vice President of the European Parliament