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Israel

My Lords, this has been a mixed debate. There is no surprise that there is more than one view. Many truths have been spoken, but frankly there has been no clear message from your Lordships which will carry us very much further forward. We have to be very aware in having these debates of straying from concerned advice and focus on our own national interests, to use the words of the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, into hectoring and lecturing others who are in circumstances that sometimes are very difficult for us to imagine and appreciate. I begin with the general observation that it is sad to see how the cause of Israel’s existence and nationhood has declined over the years. When I first entered politics—well over four decades ago—Israel was the favoured cause of the left, the right and the centre. Heroes like Abba Eban and others were enormously admired by Labour leaders such as Dick Crossman. Everyone recognised the values and determination of this amazing country, which was making the desert green and building a nation. Today, it is quite different. Almost everyone has grown impatient, if not with Israel, with Israel’s current policies, with its government attitudes and many—not all—of its leaders. Now, at the moment and at this particular stage, there is the relentless expansion into east Jerusalem and into Palestinian territory which has been mentioned by your Lordships; there is the heavy-handed siege of Gaza—one recognises all the arguments either side, but nevertheless it is undoubtedly very heavy-handed; there is the ruthless killing, the murder, of political opponents, themselves possibly murderers as well—always two sides to that argument—actions that in a democracy make many of us feel very shocked. Nor must we forget, as the noble Lord, Lord Dykes, rightly reminded us, that many Israelis, possibly most Israelis, simply want the right to exist in peace with their neighbours, to have their right to exist recognised, instead of constantly questioned, and maybe to get back onto the road map if they can. That is the sad and mixed situation. Anyone who tries to define it more narrowly, one way or another, is not helping the cause of peace in the region. Everyone, too, is watching what a reinvigorated—or supposedly reinvigorated—US President, Mr Obama, will do now, after his domestic problems have been somewhat ameliorated with his success over the health scheme and health reforms. We have heard about the so-called unbreakable bond between America and Israel, which Mrs Clinton was reiterating the other day to the major audience of the US Jewish lobby AIPAC, but now we have to ask what the US President and the US Government mean by that unbreakable bond. Mr Obama made three requests the other day to Mr Netanyahu, and he has made them before; first, the freeze on Jewish settlement growth should be extended beyond September—that is the George Mitchell proposition; secondly, building projects in east Jerusalem should be stopped; and thirdly, Israeli forces should withdraw to positions held before the second intifada of 2000. There is no evidence at all that Israeli leaders are agreeing to any of these requests. In fact, the very cold meeting between Mr Netanyahu and Mr Obama the other day suggests that there is no agreement at the moment. The figures of the settlement issue—people say it should not be focused on, but it is a very central issue—are truly staggering. Last year, the number of settlers in the West Bank was 479,500, of whom 285,000 were living in the West Bank, and another 193,700 in east Jerusalem. These are enormous numbers and it is very hard to see how they can be reconciled with any kind of concept of two states or a separate Palestinian state. That is very hard to understand. I know I have heard in detail the arguments put by very sincere Israelis about this case, but it remains very difficult for us to see how these things can match. The question now is: what moves can the US make—if it is up to it? Can the US move to much stronger measures, such as cutting off funds, in the way that George Bush Sr did? What representations can we here in the UK make in our various roles as a member of international organisations, as a leading member of the European Union but also as a leading member of many other groups, with excellent bilateral ties to many players and many states in the region—bilateral ties which in my view and my party’s view need considerable refreshing and strengthening? The signs are that the US may be stirring a little more than some people think. Senior American officials have been talking to Hamas—Thomas Pickering and Robert Malley, both very distinguished former senior officials in the US Administration. The tone has changed, as the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, reminded us, with the language of the deadlock, the failure to come to grips with the almost intractable problem of who to negotiate with. Hamas will still not talk even to al-Fatah, so it is difficult for Israel to find grounds on which to talk but, nevertheless, perhaps somehow there can be progress through proximity talks. Until there is, that is endangering the interests of US troops and of our soldiers and military, endangering our lives and our national interest. It is certainly continuing to erode American influence everywhere in the Middle East. That is the change of tone and it may be leading to something firmer. There is also the question of Iran. Obviously, Israel cannot afford to open an Iranian front on its own and the US is certainly in no mood for a third Muslim war. Nor for a moment could we in this country afford to be dragged in to such a conflagration. The deeper and final question is whether the US alone can now solve the problem or carry it forward—whether it has the political weight to do so. It may have the military weight, has it got the political weight? Have we now reached the point where not only the European Union and the regional powers, such as Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and, perhaps, Syria, must be involved but where the full weight of China, Russia and the rising powers of Asia must be mobilised to solve what is becoming a global and international problem? Either way, there is no quick fix. Whatever representations we may try to make, it looks as though this will begin to unravel only when it is seen and acted on as a truly global issue. That is the sobering but realistic message that must come out of any debate such as we have had this evening. No doubt we shall return to this matter many times in future.