HC Deb 31 October 1955 vol 545 cc672-5
49. Mr. P. Williams

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what further action he proposes to take to reduce tension between Egypt and Israel.

Mr. Nutting

As my hon. Friend will have seen, General Burns, the Chief of Staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation, yesterday issued a strong appeal to both sides to order their forces in the vicinity of the El Auja Demilitarised Zone and at other points where they confront each other, to cease all aggressive activities and retaliations and to restrict their operations to defence, in keeping with the terms of the General Armistice Agreement. General Burns called the attention of both parties to the grave moral responsibilities that would be borne by whichever party took offensive action of any kind which in this situation might result in the gravest consequences. This appeal, which was endorsed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, was issued after urgent consultations had been held in New York between General Burns, the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations, and his United States and French colleagues.

Her Majesty's Ambassadors in Cairo and Tel Aviv have been instructed to make representations to the Egyptian and Israeli Governments in support of General Burns's appeal.

Mr. Williams

Is my right hon. Friend aware that there is some misunderstanding, or some lack of clarity, about the terms of the 1950 Tripartite Declaration? Will Her Majesty's Government issue a statement of their position in relation to this Declaration so there may be no misunderstanding whatsoever on either side about our position?

Mr. Nutting

I am unaware of any lack of clarity about the Tripartite Declaration, which is a far more automatic document than most international agreements and documents of today.

Mr. H. Morrison

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the situation in the Middle East is very grave; that open threats are being made against Israel, particularly by Egypt? Ought not the Government now to begin to face up to the point about this arms race and to recognise that Israel is entitled to fair treatment? Ought we not to guarantee, to enter into some pact for the guarantee of her frontiers in the same way as we have done in the case of some Arab States?

Mr. Nutting

There is a question about that point on the Order Paper, and if it is left on the Paper the right hon. Gentleman will see what a very serious view Her Majesty's Government take. If it is not reached, I can give him this much of an answer: we do not think that this is the moment to give the guarantee to which he referred, because what we wish to do is to guarantee a settlement in that area and not guarantee the existing unsettled state of affairs.

So far as arms for Israel or any country in that area are concerned, recent events have shown even more clearly than before that the Western Powers, this country included, no longer have a monopoly of arms supplies to this area. This situation involves difficult decisions for this country and her Western partners. We cannot, on the one hand, embark on an arms race in competition with the Soviet bloc; on the other hand, to put a ban on deliveries would merely have the effect of further driving these countries to less responsible suppliers than ourselves. [Laughter.] I do not know why that should cause so much laughter. If hon. Gentlemen who find so much merriment in that answer regard the Soviet bloc as a responsible supplier, I do not. Her Majesty's Government and our Western partners have to steer a course between these two extremes, and we shall continue to have regard to the Tripartite Declaration in all our arms deliveries and all our arms policies to the Middle East.

Mr. Shinwell

While agreeing that an arms race is undesirable and calculated to lead to a conflict, would the Minister not agree that the situation is rapidly deteriorating; that some action must be taken by both the United Kingdom Government and the United States Government in cooperation and that, however well-intentioned the efforts of General Burns have been, it is quite clear that they have ended in failure and that unless some different action is taken at the earliest possible moment the Middle East will be involved in grave conflict?

Mr. Nutting

I would not agree for one moment that General Burns's activities have ended in failure. They are continuing, and I think that the whole House would wish to pay tribute to the way in which this man, very often single-handed, has managed to maintain the situation in that part of the world and prevent an armed conflict on a far greater scale than that which has broken out.

So far as the United Kingdom Government and the United States Government are concerned, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is discussing this matter at this moment in Geneva with his United States colleague and has raised with Mr. Molotov the matter of Soviet bloc arms supplies. We are very concerned with the situation, and I can assure right hon. Gentlemen that we shall continue to do everything that lies within our power to maintain the balance and to create an atmosphere in which a settlement may emerge.

Mr. Younger

Would the right hon. Gentleman clear up a rather dangerous doubt which may arise from his very long supplementary when he said that what we wanted was to guarantee a settlement and not the present more fluid position? Will he confirm that under the Tripartite Declaration, by which we now stand, we do in fact guarantee the existing position against alteration by force and not merely some subsequent settlement?

Mr. Nutting

We guarantee existing frontiers by means of the Declaration. What we wish to do is to guarantee by treaty a settlement of the whole area.