Restarting the Peace Process Is Imperative

Jack Straw

The last weeks in Israel and the occupied territories have been some of the

worst in recent memory. The images of the ruins of Rafah, and of the

shrouded bodies in a flower warehouse there, shocked and grieved us all. So

too, some days earlier, did the grotesque displays of the body parts of

Israeli soldiers, and the murder of a pregnant Israeli woman and her children.

The violence is a symptom of blockage and frustration in the process

towards peace. Israel has maintained its policy of assassinations, which

are both unlawful and counterproductive, and continued to build its

security barrier on occupied territory, as well as allowing the expansion

of settlements and the infrastructure which supports them, eating into

Palestinian land. The Palestinians, for their part, have not delivered the

security which is a crucial condition for progress.

The spiral of violence, horror and entrenchment is putting hopes of peace

further out of reach. It points to a future in which Israelis face growing

isolation from their neighbours, and the constant fear of terrorist attack;

and Palestinians, a life of continuing military incursions, economic

stagnation and despair.

So it is vital, and urgent, that Israelis and Palestinians get back to the

Road Map peace plan. The Road Map sets out the steps for both sides towards

the solution which they, and the whole international community, so

desperately want: two states, a secure Israel and a viable, democratic,

sovereign and contiguous Palestine, living side by side.

As friends of Palestinians and Israelis, we cannot make that progress for

them. But we can, and will continue to do everything which we can to

support it.

First, we are offering practical help. We have worked, for example, to help

the Palestinian [National] Authority tackle those using terrorism and

violence, and to improve its capacity to govern effectively.

Second, we continue to affirm the principles which have underpinned the

international community's policy since 1967. We have constantly urged

Israel to refrain from actions which undermine trust, and to take measures

to improve the humanitarian situation. Last week, we voted in the UN

Security Council for a resolution condemning the killing of Palestinian

civilians in Rafah, and calling on Israel to act in accordance with

international law and refrain from demolishing Palestinian houses.

And we took that same approach - practical help combined with firm

principles - to Prime Minister Sharon's initiative for withdrawal from

Gaza, which he presented earlier this month.

That plan foresaw the removal of all settlers and the withdrawal of the

Israeli army from some Palestinian areas - the sort of moves which the

international community has been urging since 1967. Carried out in

coordination with the PNA, and as part of a continuing process of

negotiation towards peace, we therefore said that we would welcome it.

But we also made clear that any such initiative is only a first step. It

must not prejudice the negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians on

the crucial "final status issues", which only they can resolve together -

the future of Jerusalem, the boundaries of a future Palestinian state, and

the status of refugees.

Sharon is now reflecting on how to respond to his party's rejection of his

Gaza withdrawal initiative. Only Israel's elected politicians can decide

the next steps.

But whatever the result of their deliberations, our own position has not

changed. We will judge any new, or revised proposals, by one simple

criterion: whether they help to get us back towards the peace process

outlined in the Road Map, as a first step in a process of negotiations in

which Israelis and Palestinians will together decide on the final, crucial

issues.

And we remain ready to play our part in supporting the people of Gaza

following a withdrawal, in every way we can. The "Quartet" of the UN, US,

EU and Russia has recognised our shared responsibility to do so, and

Britain will have an important part to play in fulfilling that responsibility.

As Sharon reflects on the way forward, I hope that Israel will find a way

to recommit itself to the peace process based on the Road Map, starting

with total withdrawal from Gaza.

For us in the international community, our commitment to making such a

withdrawal a success remains firm, as one step in a still more ambitious

process leading towards a final settlement, as set out in the Road Map and

in the resolutions of the United Nations. Britain has a part to play in

that, and we will play it to the full.

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Jack Straw is the British Foreign Secretary.

Source: The Jordan Times, June 3, 2004

Visit the Jordan Times website at http://www.jordantimes.com/

Distributed by the Common Ground News Service.

Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.