The violence and bloodshed seen in recent weeks in Israel and the Palestinian territories has engendered a renewed scepticism about the prospects of the peace process begun last year at Annapolis. I firmly believe that rather than demonstrating the futility of the current process, these recent setbacks should only strengthen our resolve to continue with it.
When real progress is made towards resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such as those steps taken at Annapolis in 2007, it will inevitably provoke opposition from spoiler groups on both sides who will use whatever means available to disrupt the process. We should not give in to this familiar strategy by abandoning hopes of peace at precisely these crucial junctures. Rather, the continuing suffering felt on all sides should further strengthen our commitment to ending the conflict and bring peace to those who have already suffered too much.
In September last year, I along with a group of parliamentary colleagues visited Israel and the Palestinian territories with the Labour Friends of Israel. The trip took place as early discussions about a possible peace conference hosted by the Americans in Annapolis were being considered. The common message we got from both Israelis and Palestinians that we met was that now was the time to act. The renewed optimism and determination of the people we met set the tone of our visit and has been the motivation behind a lot of the work that I and others have done on this issue since then.
Since our return, despite the positive efforts made towards peace at the end of 2007, tensions between the parties have indeed been rising. Israelis suffer from ongoing rocket and mortar attacks which have increased by 150 per cent since Hamas’ violent takeover of Gaza in June 2007 and their increased range mean that today over 190,000 Israeli civilians are living in fear of attack.
This has resulted in mounting public pressure on the Israeli government to take action. Israel has responded by employing military, economic and political means at its disposal, as any sovereign state entrusted with defending its citizens would. For Palestinians, this cycle of rocket attacks and Israeli counter-measures is compounding current hardships, making life in Gaza increasingly bleak and miserable. Recent terrorist attacks which killed nine Israelis since 4 February this year, have raised fears once again of escalating violence against civilians deep inside Israel. They have made Israel reluctant to ease the security measures currently in place in the West Bank that continue to cause such suffering to ordinary Palestinians on a daily basis.
This vicious cycle of violent attacks and tightening security measures must end for real progress to be made. First and foremost rocket and terrorist attacks against Israel must be stopped. This would allow Israel to ease restrictions of movement in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel’s announcement on 31 March of plans to lift 50 roadblocks and one checkpoint in the West Bank is a very welcome development, but further action is needed. If this happens alongside a total freeze on all Israeli settlement activity, then the leaders on both sides can begin to show that the fruits of peace are tangible and real.
In the face of recent efforts to derail negotiations, it is all the more important that we sustain momentum on the peace process and support those working towards this commendable goal. At the Annapolis conference, Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas committed to resuming final status negotiations and promised to try and conclude the talks by the end of 2008.
In his opening address, Olmert described the conference as presenting real ‘hope for a new political horizon’. Abbas reciprocated saying that it marked ‘a juncture in the history of our region’ and warned that the opportunities it offered ‘should not be wasted’. Since making those public commitments to peace, Olmert and Abbas have met twice a month for talks and high-level negotiating teams have been meeting to discuss final status issues for the first time in over seven years. The fact that both sides have honoured an agreement not to disclose details of the talks is seen by many as a positive sign suggesting that the real issues are being discussed and that neither side is willing to jeopardise the progress being made by leaking details or airing grievances in public. The prospect of significant progress being made in final status negotiations, alongside tangible steps being taken to improve the situation on the ground, will help strengthen the case for peace and, in doing so, offer real hope for the future.
I strongly believe that as progressives and as internationalists we should not allow momentum around the peace process to fade. Instead of scepticism, let us be optimistic about the fact that the peace process is back on the agenda. We must focus on the positive momentum started at Annapolis by facilitating negotiations and concentrating on constructive solutions to current problems.
The UK government has shown a laudable commitment to the Middle East peace process over the years. I hope that this commitment will continue in spite of the difficult challenges that may lie ahead. As foreign secretary David Miliband recently said: ‘discussions, and swift progress in them, represent the only way of disarming the arguments of the extremists and bringing peace to the region.’ I strongly agree with this and believe that because of the potentially transformative powers of peace, it is wrong to reject this current round of talks as futile from the outset. Such pessimism risks missing a crucial window of opportunity and would come at a painfully high cost to innocent civilians on both sides of the conflict.