By Baroness Tonge - 4th May 2011
The full text of Baroness Tonge's question for short debate due today in the House of Lords.
"I make no apology for drawing minds away from the tumultuous events in the Middle East, the dubious NATO campaign in Libya and the capture and assassination of Osama bin Laden. I would like too, to ponder on the reasons why this high-minded government of ours, which was so keen to intervene in Libya for humanitarian reasons, has not felt it necessary to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people and the Bahrainis.
"I expect it is the usual double standards – which have been on display since 1948, when it was decided that the Palestinians would pay the price of the Holocaust, even if they had had nothing to do with it.
"A huge opportunity was missed after the Palestinian elections in 2006, when we refused to recognise a free and fair democratic process and give the Palestinians the government they wanted. Was that an early sign of the Arab spring, crushed by the combined forces of Israel, USA and the EU?
"I want to make an appeal that we all remember the Palestinians and the injustice that has been meted out to them since 1948 – an injustice which lies at the very heart of Arab/Muslim angst against the West and which has allowed one country, Israel, supported by the USA and the European Union, to consistently break international law.
"Let me remind readers of the facts on the ground.
"A wall or security barrier has been built between Israel and the West Bank. Fair enough, I say. I witnessed during the Second Intifada, the terror of Israeli citizens as they experienced the suicide bombers – the Al Aqsa Martyrs, they were called – encouraged and supported by Fatah, who are now Israel’s chosen partners for negotiations. The barrier was quite understandable but what was outrageous was that the course of that barrier grabbed land and water and divided farmers from their fields.
"Palestinians still have difficulty accessing healthcare and education, and their humiliation continues at the checkpoints.
"What assistance they get from the international community and NGOs is still hindered by the need to get permits from Israel to take aid and personnel into Gaza, East Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley. In a recent report the Association of International Development Agencies says that $4.5m is wasted annually because of delays to delivery of aid and aid programmes.
"The settlements go on expanding, despite exhortations from the international community and repeated criticism of this government. Farmers are attacked, crops ruined and children brutalised and imprisoned.
"In Gaza, little has changed. Food is scarce and the children malnourished. Together with the terror of constant over-flying and sonic bombing of Gaza, and the poor education the children are getting, the international community by its inaction is allowing a whole generation of children to grow up malnourished, undereducated and deeply traumatised because of the actions of Israel. Gaza is an academy for terrorists of the future.
"A more recent development is the targeting of children by snipers as they attempt to collect gravel for building purposes (building materials are not allowed in to Gaza).
"We must not forget, in this overview of the situation, the plight of Israeli Arabs and Palestinians living in Israel, who are subject to an apartheid-like regime of control and lack of freedom.
"Will the minister please update us on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the West Bank and what the government intends to do about it?
"There have been great changes in the situation recently.
"In March, after a meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, the foreign secretary said, and I quote,
“The peace process must not be allowed to become a casualty of uncertainty in the region. It is too important to be allowed to falter.”
"He also went on to say that renewed conflict must be avoided and talked about the problems of settlements, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
"A hindrance to any negotiations taking place, he said, were the divisions between Fatah and Hamas.
"William Hague looked forward to the upgrading of the Palestinian delegation in the UK to a mission, but did not comment on the fact that the USA had vetoed a UN security Council Resolution condemning the settlements a month earlier – even though the resolution used the same words that Hilary Clinton had used, when the USA called for an end to settlement expansion a year ago.
"Great evidence of the power of the Israel lobby once again.
"But the Palestinians have come up trumps, my Lords and, thanks to the good offices of the new Egyptian government and Mr El Baradei in particular, a reconciliation has been brokered between Hamas and Fatah and promises have been made to open up the Egypt /Gaza border. Mr El Baradei is a very distinguished man and a former judge at the International Court of Justice. He is to be applauded for his efforts and encouraged in every way possible.
"The Israel government, predictably, has said Fatah must choose between Israel and Hamas – Israel always produces another hurdle as one is removed. It has also decided to withhold taxes collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority on the grounds that they may be used by Hamas to buy arms – this despite assurances from Mr El Arabi that Fatah will continue to run the PA until elections have taken place.
"Israel has to be told that this could be its last chance to get a two-state solution with a secure and prosperous state of Palestine alongside a secure and already very prosperous state of Israel – I reverse the usual order of that statement deliberately. Palestine has a right to security too.
"Israel’s fear of Hamas is based on the fact that neither Israel’s leaders nor our own have ever bothered to talk to Hamas leaders, or Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza and Khalid Mish’al in Damascus.
"If they had bothered they would know that Hamas has offered a cessation of violence – in fact, it was maintained for 18 months before it was broken by Israel just before Operation Cast Lead. (The rockets being fired now are from dissident groups in Gaza which Hamas is finding more and more difficult to control – the House should know that.)
"Hamas accepts the existence of the state of Israel but will only consider its right to exist when Israel’s borders have been defined – Greater Israel – which is being created whilst we do nothing, or the Israel based on the 1967 Green Line, which everyone except Israel accepts.
"Israel has been indulged for too long, and the rights of Palestinians under international law have been ignored. Much suffering and injustice has been endured.
"International law was not mentioned in the 2003 ‘Road Map’ which was meant to provide a framework for negotiations. The International Court of Justice ruling on the separation barrier was ignored, and President Obama ignored international law in his speech in Cairo on Israel/Palestine.
"Why?
"International law is for everyone: Israel, Palestine, Bahrain, Syria, the EU, USA. If we continue to apply it selectively, world order will collapse.
"I implore the minister to tell the House what pressure we shall exert on Israel to co operate with Egypt and the Palestinians and that we shall not miss this great opportunity, of the 'Arab Spring', to bring justice also at last, to the Palestinians.
Baroness Tonge is a Liberal Democrat peer, raised to the peerage in 2005 after serving as MP for Richmond Park between 1997 and 2005.
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