Middle East

Lord Clinton-Davis Excerpts

Friday 16th March 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Clinton-Davis]

My Lords, undoubtedly the Middle East is a highly complex, incendiary and volatile area, where peaceful solutions are elusive. There are too many extremists amid the two populations—Arab and Jew—for whom “sensible compromise” represent dirty words. Implacable hostility can result only in dire consequences for both sides.

As the noble Lord, Lord Wright, has said, a two-state solution has to be encouraged. It is the only way out of the present debacle. However, the intractable problem is how we can convince all the parties that this is so. In the past negotiations have almost reached this goal and then broken down. It requires strong moral leadership from within the power bases of both Israel and Palestine to urge their respective followers to face up to reality and to accept what will ultimately deliver a peaceful future. Sadat and Begin pursued that objective.

Iran’s quest for aggressive, long-range nuclear weaponry, capable of doing real damage to the Israeli population, as well as potential harm to its close neighbours, cannot be lightly dismissed. This is no figment of the imagination in the light of Iran’s stated aim to annihilate Israel. The fact that numerous Arab states share this fear of nuclear empowerment indicates that Iran’s threats and words strike huge fear across the region. Iran has few friends, the beleaguered Syrian regime being among them. It is also divided within itself. Free speech is suppressed in a violent way. Notwithstanding these bleak facts, it would be foolhardy for Israel to be engulfed in what appears to be an unwinnable war. However, the ceasefire declared in the past few days between Hamas and Israel offers a glimpse of hope—I put it no higher than that—that negotiations are not beyond the bounds of possibility. However, ongoing hatred and suspicion mar this desirable objective.

It is essential for all advocates for peace on both sides of the divide to speak out now so that a two-state solution can arise and avert a conflagration. It has to be in the interests of Palestinians and Israelis—at least for their children—one day to realise a dream of a future based on peace, trust and prosperity for the region that both peoples inhabit.

The Israel-Palestine conflict is not, as many people attest, the sole issue in the Middle East. In a number of countries there is poverty, disease and inequality, all adding to the dangers which bedevil this part of the world, and these must also be tackled. The Governments of the United States, Europe and others, confronted by fierce armed conflicts, instability brought about by religious, social and political turmoil and the cruelty and intransigence of dictatorships, are not to be envied. What is needed now are cool heads, profound thinking—outside the box when necessary—considered reflection and a determination to stay the hands of those who would lead us inexorably into a war beyond anyone’s control. I thank the noble Lord for leading this debate in the most constructive way.