Council for European Palestinian Relations

Council for European Palestinian Relations (CEPR) is a not-for-profit organisation which has been established to promote dialogue and understanding between European , Palestinian and Arab parliamentarians and policy-makers. It seeks a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on justice and the restoration of Palestinian rights in accordance with international humanitarian and human rights law .¹ CEPR serves as Hamas ’ representative in Europe, and as such, was banned from Israel by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon in December 2013.² The Council for European Palestinian Relations (CEPR) is a non-governmental organisation based in Brussels and London .³ The CEPR is engaged in political lobbying work across Europe , particularly the European and British Parliaments . According to the CEPR's Official website, the aim of the CEPR’s work is to increase understanding of the Palestine issue and related Middle Eastern 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 and Egypt on the anniversary of ' Operation Cast Lead ’. The delegation, the biggest ever to Gaza, was led by British Labour MP Sir Gerald Kaufman and included over 50 parliamentarians 13 European countries. The visit included meetings with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency , Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa . In October 2010 the CEPR took a delegation of parliamentarians from the European, British, Scottish and Polish parliaments to the occupied West Bank and Jordan . The trip included meetings with Hamas representatives in the Palestinian Legislative Council seeking sanctuary at the International Red Cross , United Nations Relief and Works Agency Director John Ging and the Jordanian Prime Minister Samir al-Rifai and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. Between the 6th and 9 February 2011 the CEPR was the co-organiser of a delegation of seven European parliamentarians to Lebanon , where they met with senior government figures including President Suleiman and Prime Minister Designate Mikati and visited the Palestinian refugee camps Bourj el-Barajneh , Nahr al-Bared and Shatila . Following the popular uprising 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 , 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.⁴