Middle East

HC Deb 19 May 1976 vol 911 cc1395-6

4. Mr. Goodhart

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a further statement about the Middle East.

Mr. Hattersley

We hope that negotiations can soon be resumed with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

Mr. Goodhart

After all these months of governmental inactivity, in which the whole of the Middle East has been torn apart by violence, will the Minister contemplate taking positive action in conjunction with our EEC partners to support the fragile ceasefire?

Mr. Hattersley

We are certainly available to take any initiative or to participate in any initiative which seems to bring the prospect of peace to that troubled country. There is no future for the Lebanon in countries gratuitously mounting initiatives which only end in failure. If there seems to be a right moment for a greater EEC initiative, we shall be happy to take part in it. but it has to be the right moment.

Mr. Roy Hughes

The situation on the West Bank is now developing into a normal one where the native population is rebelling against the alien occupying Power. What are the Government doing with a view to getting Israeli withdrawal from this territory?

Mr. Hattersley

My hon. Friend will be aware of the draft resolution of the United Nations of 25th March and our attitude towards it, which was a clear indication of our position. Our opinion is that constant building in these areas will impede the progress towards peace, and we regret this.

Mr. Walters

Is not the Minister being rather complacent about British activity? Does not the situation on the West Bank highlight the fact that the Middle East is not static, and at any time can be explosive? Should not Britain and Europe be more active?

Mr. Hattersley

I understand the attitude that Britain should be more active in these matters, but that is a misunderstanding of Britain's rôle and the era in which we live. Initiatives for promoting a stable situation in the Middle East lie with the United States of America, which has had a great deal of success in the past. Counter-initiatives could only make the situation more perilous than it is.

Mr. Luce

Will the Minister seek to obtain a Community statement designed to warn the Israelis that another war in the Middle East is inevitable if they insist on constructing settlements in Arab-occupied territory? They should now gradually withdraw from Arab-occupied territory.

Mr. Hattersley

I have made my view on this matter very clear. I do not think that the purpose of peace in the Middle East would be best served by getting a co-ordinated EEC policy on that particular matter.