HC Deb 14 February 1972 vol 831 cc15-7
14. Mr. Madel

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals Her Majesty's Government have for resolving the present deadlock in the Israel-Egypt dispute; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Godber

Her Majesty's Government remain ready to help in any way we can to find a way forward. As the House is aware, my right hon. Friend will be visiting Israel in March.

Mr. Madel

Would my right hon. Friend agree that the opening of the Suez Canal would go some way towards reducing tension between Egypt and Israel, and that, in order to do this, Israel should move perhaps 10 miles eastwards from the canal and Egyptian missiles should be removed from the canal zone? Once the canal is open, may we look for a reduction in the price of oil to this country?

Mr. Godber

I am sure that my hon. Friend's proposal is laudable. Indeed this was the basis of the United States' proposal put forward and pursued energetically last year, from March onwards. We indicated that we should be perfectly willing to support any proposal of that kind if results could be achieved. Unfortunately, so far it has not been possible to make any progress in this matter. On the last point, it would be some time before we could hope to arrive at that situation.

Mr. Will Griffiths

Do the Government consider that the Israeli Government's policy of permanent occupation and development of part of the Golan Heights and the exploitation of certain resources in Sinai, all with the appearance of permanency, is a blot on attempts to find a peaceful solution? Do the Government still base their policy on the Security Council resolution of November, 1967?

Mr. Godber

Yes. The last part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question covers this point. It is on resolution 242 of the Security Council that we base our position. As the hon. Gentleman will recall, that resolution calls for withdrawal from the occupied territories is a matter subject to dispute. But this is the essence of the problem.

Mr. Kaufman

I trust that in replying to my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Exchange (Mr. Will Griffiths), the right hon. Gentleman is not accepting the statement made by my hon. Friend in the preliminary to his question as there is no evidence whatever that the Israelis are in permanent occupation of these areas. Will the right hon. Gentleman pursue the line suggested by his hon. Friend, as the Israelis have now made it evident that they are willing for partial agreement, to begin with, based upon a withdrawal from the Suez Canal?

Mr. Godber

I assure the hon. Gentleman that I seldom accept the preliminaries of any question put from the Opposition side of the House. On the specific matter, we have to look very carefully at the latest comments from the Israelis, but we have a long way to go in making progress. I have discussed this matter with Dr. Jarring on a number of occasions. I am most anxious to make progress but there is not enough give in the situation yet.