ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
The conflict in Israel and Palestine is one of the most serious foreign
policy issues facing us today. The crisis has a long and protracted history and
attempts to resolve the crisis have so far been unsuccessful. However, the
security and stability of the region, and of the wider world, depend upon the
realisation of a negotiated settlement that is supported by both sides and the
wider world.
The Liberal Democrats are fully committed to a two-state
solution. Both Israel and Palestine have the right to viable and secure states,
recognised internationally and by their neighbours.
The ‘road map’ which
was meant to deliver this two state solution has become embarrassingly
out-of-date and many of its deadlines have long since passed. Nevertheless,
leadership by the ‘Quartet’ of the United Nations, United States, Russia and the
European Union offers the only current, internationally supported route to a
lasting settlement of the crisis. We believe the international community has
been disastrously distracted from the road map by the events in Lebanon and
elsewhere; the Quartet must recommit to the roadmap process and redouble its
efforts to find a solution.
The election of Hamas to the Palestinian
Authority in 2006 was not the result that members of the international community
expected or wanted, but it was a clear democratic outcome.
While the
Quartet was entitled to expect the new government to adhere to the three key
principles of renouncing violence, recognising Israel and respecting previous
agreements, we strongly opposed the decision to suspend aid to the territories –
particularly since there was no alternative method of delivering aid in place.
Indeed, it took an unacceptable five months to establish the Temporary
International Mechanism (TIM). Meanwhile, the suspension of aid has exacerbated
severe economic hardship in Gaza and the West Bank with many essential workers
going unpaid. We believe that the international community must sort out and
extend the TIM in order to tackle the growing poverty in the Occupied
Territories. New efforts are also needed to persuade the Israelis to release the
substantial sums of money that they have been holding back for the past
year.
The security situation in Israel, the Occupied Territories and
neighbouring states is a constant source of concern. The kidnapping of Israeli
soldiers in the summer of 2006 in Lebanon and in Gaza sparked a further wave of
violence between Israel, Gaza and Lebanon. We strongly condemned the kidnapping
of these soldiers and we continue to call for their immediate release. However,
we were appalled at Israel’s disproportionate response to these kidnappings,
particularly in Lebanon, where their military actions and use of cluster bombs
were in clear breach of international law.
We welcomed the ceasefire in
Lebanon as
secured by the passage of Security Resolution 1701 and have called on both sides
to live up to their obligations under this resolution. We also believe that
Israel has an obligation to assist international efforts to clear the remnants
of cluster munitions littering South Lebanon.
We also welcome the
restraint shown by both Israel and Palestine in recent months and in their
efforts to uphold the tense truce which now exists.
However, despite this
recent truce and the prospect of a unity government in Palestine, there are
still some serious issues which need to be addressed, not least the construction
of settlements, Israel’s ‘security barrier’ and the right of refugees to return
to their homelands.
Our Prime Minister has said that solving the Middle
East crisis was a key priority for his government. However, his unfaltering
support of Washington has undermined Britain’s reputation and influence in the
region.
The US Iraq Study Group argued that finding a solution to the
Israel-Palestine issue was fundamental to ensuring peace in the wider Middle
East. We agree wholeheartedly with this assessment.
The government
endorsed the ISG’s report and its recommendations, but has now been left in the
untenable position of, on the one hand, endorsing a new drive to solve the
Israel-Palestine crisis and a renewed diplomatic engagement with Syria and Iran,
while on the other, following Washington’s policy which has dismissed the
report.
This position has led the Liberal Democrats to call for a new strategy in Iraq,
but it is equally clear that we need a new strategy for Israel-Palestine. We
believe that the only viable alternative to a US led strategy is a European
one.
Europe has a significant role and interest in the region. The Union
is both Palestine’s largest aid donor and Israel’s largest trading partner.
Establishing a robust Common Position on Israel-Palestine is essential and
Europe must use its foreign policy clout to push more forcefully for a peaceful
resolution to the conflict. The European Union is the formal member of the
Quartet; it must act in accordance with that fact, and not simply continue to
bankroll an increasingly failed policy over which it has limited
influence.
