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Gaza

My Lords, I was on a short visit to Lebanon in early January at the time of the attacks on Gaza. I also had an opportunity to visit Lebanon two years ago to look at the cluster munitions that were being cleared in the south following the Israeli attacks there. I am sad to be critical of Israel, particularly given my personal background, but I think that there is no alternative but to make some criticisms. Of course, it is unacceptable that any town or city in Israel should be subjected to rocket attacks, but it is equally unacceptable that the civilian population of Gaza should have been attacked in the way that it was. Certainly, people in the region who made the comparison talked about the lack of proportion in the two attacks. However, it is also clear that every rocket that lands on Israel increases Israel’s determination to resist. Equally, every shell, every bomb, every injury and every death in Gaza has increased the resistance to Israel on the part of the people of Gaza, and that resistance is now formidable. I think that Israel’s future has been significantly endangered by what it has done in Gaza. Perhaps I can make one comment about the conflict in Lebanon two years before: the cluster munitions, the bomblets, were not in thousands but in millions and they are still being cleared by United Nations teams and are still causing injury and death to people living in south Lebanon. I understand that even to this day Israel has not supplied the co-ordinates of the shells that were fired, in order to help the United Nations teams to clear them. Surely that should be put right immediately. I want to talk about three things: I want to say something about Hamas, to say something about the feelings in the region and to offer a few tentative thoughts about possible ways forward. People have said that Hamas does not accept the existence of the state of Israel. My understanding is that, some time ago, Fatah did not either. There has to be a process whereby those things are brought to light and changed. I agree with those Members of this House who have said that the mistake has been not to talk to Hamas. I think the mistake was not to talk to Hamas at the beginning, when it was elected. If we say to people, ““You have no political way forward because we do not accept the political debate””, then what are we offering them? Violence, as the only way out? Surely that is so counterproductive. We have to say to people that politics, debate and negotiation are better ways forward for your people to establish your rights than using violence. Therefore, we must engage in that debate. I think we made a big error in not doing so at the time. Of course, Egypt is acting as an intermediary at the moment, but it would be right if there were more direct talks with Hamas—perhaps that is taking place behind the scenes. I hope that George Mitchell, whose appointment I very much welcome, will help in that. It is a mistake to talk about preconditions. In Northern Ireland negotiations, we learnt that setting preconditions does not work. These things come out of the process of negotiation. You cannot do it at the beginning and it is no good saying to Hamas, ““You have to accept all sorts of things””. I hope that it will in the process of negotiation, but it will not at the outset. If there were an election today in Gaza, I believe that Hamas would win even more convincingly than it did last time; and I suspect that if there were an election today in the West Bank, Hamas would win there as well. That would be a result of what Israel has done. I came back with a feeling of enormous anger in Lebanon and in the whole region about what happened; an anger which it is difficult to understand unless one is there to feel it; an anger which will last a long, long time; and an anger which will affect the process of moving forward in the region. That anger about what has happened has resulted in a strategic shift in the politics of the region; it is not always obvious at the moment, but deep down there has been a strategic shift. I do not think that we can expect there to be a return to the position before the attack on Gaza; the world there has changed. I repeat that the anger, bitterness and resentment are so strong that they will affect the region for a very long time to come. In the region, Al-Jazeera was able to produce news—it also interviewed Israeli politicians—and show people what was happening. As the Israeli Government would not allow the BBC in, the BBC had very limited coverage, so if some facts which were favourable to Israel were not coming out, that was Israel's fault for not having allowed the journalists in there to report. During my visit to Lebanon, I also visited a family in south Lebanon, almost on the Israeli border. It was an ordinary family. I was taken there to have a look at various things, which there is not time to discuss now. The family gave me food and were very hospitable, but it was chilling to hear what they said to me: ““We don't want a two-state solution; we want a one-state solution; we do not want Israel to exist””. I reject that proposition entirely, but it is chilling to hear such attitudes from people who are otherwise reasonable and who do not seem to be militants or members of Hezbollah—perhaps they were, but they did not seem to be. I have a few brief thoughts on the way forward. We cannot demand that Hamas and Fatah have to get together. There are serious differences of view and it is not helpful for us to lecture them and say, ““You should get together because it will make it easier””. Where there are different visions of the future, I do not think that that is possible. Of course, there needs to be a process to help the Palestinians towards a united leadership, but we cannot impose that on them. My understanding is that Hamas has made some practical proposals for the resolution of the Rafah crossings and the management and reconstruction of Gaza, including the introduction of independent monitors. I understand that Hamas will accept shared responsibility with Fatah, but it will not agree to give exclusive responsibility to Fatah for that. Turkey has played an important part, particularly in facilitating discussions early on between Syria and Israel, although those are now in abeyance. At one time, I thought that Turkey would have a greater part to play, but I think there has been a fundamental disagreement between Turkey and Israel. Nevertheless, I still wonder whether Turkey could not play a larger part in bringing people in the region together. In the mean time, Egypt has played an important part, and I very much welcome the contribution of George Mitchell. I saw him at first hand in Northern Ireland and his appointment and contribution could prove to be significant. He has patience, he has understanding, and he knows the mistakes being made now that could be avoided. Of course, in the end, we want a two-state solution. We want a legitimate State of Palestine, internationally recognised with proper borders going back to before 1967; and we want a State of Israel living in peace, safety and security with its neighbours. That way, there will be hope for the region. All that we can do is our best to try to achieve that end.