BICOM

A delegation of 400 members of the European parliament visited the Knesset yesterday. The delegation took part in a series of joint committee hearings, on subjects including immigrant absorption and ecology. A hundred members of the delegation also attended a joint session of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, which discussed the latest events in Egypt, and other security related topics. Committee Chairman Shaul Mofaz told the members of the delegation that 2011 was shaping up to be the year of a ‘turning point’ in the Middle East. Mofaz noted that Israel is convinced that Iran acted in Lebanon to bring down the government of Saad al-Hariri . He also expressed his concern that recent events in the region could lead to a ‘domino effect’ which would benefit radical elements.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday at a conference in the Knesset also met with European parliamentarians. He told the MEPs that Egypt may follow in Iran’s footsteps, oppress its own people and threaten neighbouring countries. Netanyahu also warned about the danger inherent in Iran’s attempts to acquire a nuclear bomb. He said that the events in Egypt were minor compared to a ‘greater earthquake that may shock the region and the entire world’ in case Iran develops nukes.

Members of the European delegation from the UK, Belgium and Malta later visited the protest tent maintained by the Shalit family outside the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem. The parliamentarians told the Shalit family that they would continue to work for the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Shalit has now been held by his Hamas captors for three and a half years. The delegation was organised by the European Friends of Israel group.