http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/world/10078019.html
Published: 10/28/2006 12:00 AM (UAE)
Illustration by Dwynn Trazo/Gulf News
Working for a two-state solution
By Margaret Beckett, Special to Gulf News
Millions of people across Lebanon, the Occupied Territories and Israel were
deeply affected by last summer's violence. Large numbers were evacuated and saw
their homes and livelihoods destroyed. And most tragically, many continue to
suffer the trauma of having lost a loved one.
We in Britain were, and are, deeply conscious of these effects. That is why
from the beginning of the crisis the UK worked intensively behind the scenes to
secure the earliest possible sustainable ceasefire.
Prime Minister Tony Blair was the first world leader to speak publicly about
the need for a UN force as part of a comprehensive package for a lasting peace.
On August 11, I myself went to New York to push hard for the earliest possible
agreement on a resolution and its rapid implementation.
Today the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is allowing those affected to
begin rebuilding their lives. Now we must put all our effort into ensuring that
such a conflict does not reoccur.
We cannot forget that Gaza is still blighted by the daily reality of danger,
uncertainty and instability. West Bank closures, economic deprivation and
restrictions on movement are preventing people from experiencing any kind of
normality.
At the same time, there is a wide consensus that peace must have at its core a
negotiated settlement between the Palestinians and the Israelis. For only such
a settlement offers a way in which we can bring about the creation of a viable
and prosperous Palestinian state.
Establishing the framework
Helping to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has always been one of the
UK's highest foreign policy priorities. Blair and I hope that our recent visits
to the region will be the beginning of a process to establish the framework for
guiding the sides back to the negotiating table and moving past the current
deadlock.
We may disagree on how to achieve this vision, but few disagree with the vision
itself. Violence only undermines our efforts to realise it. I am well aware
that lack of progress on this issue continues to poison relations between the
parties in the region.
Progress towards a just and comprehensive peace represents the key to tackling
so many of the complex challenges facing the whole Middle East.
Central to the creation of a Palestinian state is the creation of
fully-functioning government institutions. These cannot be expected to
spontaneously appear in response to the signing of a final status agreement.
Rather, by working now towards this end, we can all help strengthen the
Palestinians' hand in negotiations on the nature of that Palestinian state.
This is why the UK and its EU partners place so much emphasis on working with
the Palestinians to achieve progress towards this goal, even though we are
aware of the difficulty of undertaking such a project under continuing
occupation.
Thus, in addition to supporting the political process, the UK is helping
develop the institutions and economy of a future Palestinian state. For
example, the UK has supported work on security sector reform and instigated
projects to improve the capacity of the Palestinian ministries, and the police,
so that these institutions could function as the organs of a fully-fledged
state.
We are pushing hard to ensure the regular opening of crossing points which are
vital arteries for the movement of goods and people; and on plans to improve
security at the Karni crossing to enable Palestinians to export their harvests.
This practical support is vital for improving the lives of ordinary people and
in ensuring that a future Palestinian state is a functioning and thriving
entity.
However, the potential for what we could do would be significantly enhanced if
the international community were working with a Palestinian government which
accepted the principles of renouncing violence, recognising Israel, and
accepting previous agreements.
Hamas's dogmatic prevarication in accepting the need for a national unity
government has effectively put the brakes on progress of any kind, while every
day the lot of ordinary Palestinians deteriorates.
Thwarting the desire
Countless polls have demonstrated the support of a clear Palestinian majority
for a two state solution. Yet Hamas, whose founding charter explicitly calls
for the destruction of Israel, continues to thwart this desire for a lasting
peace based on a negotiated settlement.
I want here to rebut the lie once and for all that the UK and the EU have
imposed sanctions against the Palestinians. The EU has given more to the
Palestinians this year than in previous years over $820 million.
The UK, the largest European donor, has given the same amount this year as it
gave in the last financial year $57 million hardly a financial siege!
The UK led the way in establishing the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM)
earlier this year which has provided ยค165 million assistance to the Palestinian
people since June alone; supporting Palestinians with low incomes; paying
health workers' salaries; and helping pay fuel bills.
But the bulk of the Palestinian National Authority's (PNA) monthly budget,
prior to January, was financed by revenues which Israel collects on its behalf,
and to which the PNA is entitled.
These amount to some $55 million per month and their release would make the
single greatest difference to the PNA's budgetary situation. We have called on
Israel to use the TIM to channel the frozen revenues it is holding to the
Palestinians.
We are not asking Hamas to make concessions on final-status issues Occupied
Jerusalem, refugees or the borders of a future Palestinian state. They are
entitled to make any demands they wish on these issues.
Rather our position continues to be that a solution to these issues must be
negotiated, rather than being dictated by any one side or even the
international community.
However, for negotiations to happen and be meaningful there must be a common
basis for them to start from: namely, that the goal is a two-state solution,
achieved through talks between two parties which mutually acknowledge each
other.
When people lose faith in the possibility of peace, those who don't want
progress gain an opportunity to set an agenda of violence, confrontation and
hatred.
Violence only adds to the mistrust and human suffering and puts off the tough
but unavoidable process of talking to the opposite side in order to bring about
a definitive solution.
We in the UK know, from our own experience in Northern Ireland, that the path
to peace can require painful compromises on both sides.
But we also know that the dividends of peace are far greater than the sum total
of these compromises. Palestinians and Israelis alike deserve the chance to
achieve peace. The UK is committed to supporting them.
Margaret Beckett is the British Foreign Secretary
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