Examination of Witnesses (Questions 196-199)
MR BEN
BRADSHAW, MR
CHRISTOPHER PRENTICE,
MR EDWARD
CHAPLIN AND
MR WILLIAM
EHRMAN
TUESDAY 23 APRIL 2002
Chairman
196. Minister, may I welcome you to what I think
is your first appearance before the Foreign Affairs Committee.
We welcome you and we welcome your team. You have with you, Mr
Christopher Prentice, who is Head of the Middle East and North
Africa Department, Mr Edward Chaplin, who is Director for the
Middle East and North Africa Department and Mr William Ehrman,
Director for International Security. Minister, as you know, the
Committee is conducting an inquiry into the war against terrorism,
as seen under its general and its several regional aspects. We
will hope to turn later in the questioning to Iraq but the crisis
at the moment is clearly that between Israel and Palestine. We
had the debate, a very useful debate, in the Chamber on Tuesday
of last week, and the Committee thought it very useful within
the context of our inquiry into the war against terrorism to have
a further exchange with you at this time, particularly because
of the deterioration of the situation, the despair of those who
have tried to build bridges and the fact at least there are various
peace proposals on the table. I note that on 16 April you said
this, "We shall be seeking a UN Security Council Resolution,
based on Crown Prince Abdullah's plan, to promote a political
process, following US Secretary of State Powell's visit to the
region. We stand ready to help with the monitoring of a ceasefire
and confidence building measures." That is your proposal,
what will the Government propose as the first step to the implementation
of the plan, which is now not only the Saudi Plan of course but
one which has been endorsed by the wider Arab countries at the
Beirut Summit? How do we see that plan evolving, what are the
first steps towards implementation and, in particular, what leadership
will the Foreign Office give in that?
(Mr Bradshaw) Mr Chairman, the first
step is to defuse the crisis, as you have so rightly described
it, on the ground. My analysis of the current situation on the
Middle East peace process is we have this dreadful dichotomy between
the appalling situation on the ground, as you yourself have already
said, and the rather hopeful big picture where we have an unprecedented
level of international consensus on what a final settlement will
look like, not just Crown Prince Abdullah's proposal, which was
unanimously endorsed at the Beirut Summit, but the historic American
support for a United Nations Resolution calling for a two state
solution, a vision that unites the Arab world, the West, Russia
and I think most reasonable people in Israel and the Palestinian
territories. The challenge for us is how we get there, and first
and foremost our priority has to be to get humanitarian aid into
the towns and cities which are still suffering terribly since
the recent incursions, to get the Israeli withdrawal in accordance
with the United Nations Resolution 1402, and a ceasefire also
in line with those resolutions, and then the necessary steps which
we all know and are very familiar with from Mitchell and Tenet
leading to a settlement. One of the reasons we are speaking more
openly and candidly about how we see a final settlement looking
is we think, as you yourself said in your speech last week to
the House, that the incremental approach adopted in the Madrid
and Oslo processes was not enough and we need to articulate more
than ever the solution as we see it, as indeed does the whole
international community.
197. But parallel with what will be a hoped
for lowering of the temperature on the ground, what steps specifically
are you taking towards convening a wider conference?
(Mr Bradshaw) We have said we would be supportive
of a wider conference. There are still a great many question marks
as to where that conference would be, who would be involved, what
its aims would be, who would be invited and so forth. The examples
you quoted in your introduction are elements that have been pioneered
by Britain, if you like, that the Prime Minister put in the public
domain in Crawford in his recent speech at his bilateral with
President Bush which we feel can contribute to a process. I do
not think they are the solution, there are going to be a number
of elements which are required before we get to a conference.
198. And the next steps at the UN level, the
Security Council?
(Mr Bradshaw) There are none specifically planned.
We had last weekend Security Council Resolution 1405, which very
much came out of Britain's initiative derived from our concern
specifically about the situation and events in Jenin following
the visit not just by the humanitarian organisations but also
our Defence Attaché in Tel Aviv. It was as a result of
a British initiative we got that resolution which endorsed a United
Nations fact-finding mission to Jenin. But I am not aware of any
immediate further UN Security Council proposals, and I see my
officials shaking their heads as well endorsing that.
Sir Patrick Cormack
199. Mr Bradshaw, could I ask you three questions.
First of all, have you had any indication at all that the Israeli
Government would be prepared to take the Crown Prince's proposals
as the basis for a conference?
(Mr Bradshaw) No, we have not any strong indication
but at the same time they have not rejected them out of hand.
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