John Austin

Labour Party | Erith and Thamesmead

Situation in the Middle East

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Tuesday 26 January: Strasbourg

Situation in the Middle East

Speech by John Austin MP (UK Socialist Group)

Mr AUSTIN (United Kingdom). – Thank you Mr President. May I add my congratulations to Mr Fassino on producing such a comprehensive report? I understand the difficulty of trying to produce a balanced report in these circumstances. I believe that the report will be strengthened and improved by some of the amendments that were moved in the Political Affairs Committee this morning and, I hope, by some further amendments that I hope to table later.

In a week that has seen the Presidency of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe going to Turkey, I believe that it is important for the report to recognise the important role that Turkey can play in the Middle East. It is also right to emphasise the importance of the Arab peace initiative. The mainstay of Israel’s real guarantee of peace and security is an agreement with all its Arab neighbours – not a two-state solution, but a 27-state solution, guaranteeing security and peace for Israel.

The report might have been strengthened by more references to the blockade and to the need to give unfettered access to aid from humanitarian agencies, as well as to the lifting of maritime restrictions on Gaza and the restrictions on trade and the movement of people. The blockade, we must recognise, is an act of collective punishment of a civilian population and it is illegal under international law. I think that Mr Gardetto was right to remind us that here in the Council of Europe we should concentrate on issues of legality and human rights. There should be more references to breaches of international law and of United Nations resolutions, and I would also like to see a reference made to the Goldstone report and its recommendations. We should recognise not only that Gaza is under siege, but that the blockade continues in the West Bank with still more than 570 obstacles to movement.

The report refers to the wall but it is not a dividing wall between Israel and Palestine; much of it is built on Palestinian territory and it annexes a further 10 per cent of Palestinian land. The home demolitions are not mentioned in the report, but they should be as they are a violation of international law, as is the confiscation of land. Madame Durrieu referred to the occupation, and we have to say that under an occupation, the occupying power has obligations under the fourth Geneva Convention. That should be recognised. It places an obligation on those of us who are also signatories to that convention.

We need negotiating partners on both sides – in Israel and in Palestine – but I regret that the Netanyahu statement on Jerusalem is a setback and a bar to negotiations. We need partners, but the mayor of Jerusalem does not make it easier when he says that he intends East Jerusalem to be a Jewish city by 2020. We are not helped by the Speaker of the Knesset when he says that Gaza should have an economic but not a political peace, and that Gaza should manage its own administration under Israeli supervision. I hope that the Israeli representatives here today will speak out against those statements made by the Speaker of the Knesset.
For a full transcript of the debate go to:

http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/Records/2010/E/1001261000E.htm

for votes and debate on amendments go to:
http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/Records/2010/E/1001261500E.htm

For copy of Report go to:
http://assembly.coe.int/Mainf.asp?link=/Documents/AdoptedText/ta10/ERES1700.htm