Middle East

HC Deb 26 April 1978 vol 948 cc1358-61

5. Mr. Walters

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's attitude on progress towards peace in the Middle East.

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Frank Judd)

I have nothing to add to the reply my right hon. Friend gave the hon. Gentleman on 22nd March.

Mr. Walters

As the present contacts between the United States Government and the Governments in the area do not appear to be making satisfactory progress, does the Foreign Secretary consider that this might be an opportune time for the European Community to bring forward an initiative aimed at bringing the negotiations back into the international arena? Will the hon. Gentleman take the opportunity to confirm what is now generally agreed, namely, that it is essential, in order to have a settlement, that Palestinian rights should be recognised?

Mr. Judd

Heads of Government and Foreign Secretaries discussed this matter during the recent meeting of the European Council. After that meeting the Presidency gave a full account of the discussion to the Egyptians and others. The Egyptians expressed themselves as well satisfied with that which had taken place. Of course, we recognise that the interests and needs of the Palestinians are factors that have to be taken into account if we are to get a lasting settlement.

Mr. Roy Hughes

What contribution to peace in the Middle East was the Israeli invasion of the Lebanon, bearing in mind that several thousand people were killed and over 200,000 were made refugees? Would it not seem to indicate that Menachem Begin, the Israeli Prime Minister, is as great a terrorist now as ever he was?

Mr. Judd

Anyone with an ounce of compassion must be concerned about the suffering that preceded it. We, together with other members of the Nine, have called upon the Israelis to withdraw from South Lebanon in accordance with the resolutions passed at the United Nations.

Mr. Michael Latham

Why should Israel be required to rely upon great-Power territorial guarantees? What use are those guarantees to Israel, compared with secure and defensible frontiers?

Mr. Judd

The only lasting and effective solution to the dispute between the Arabs and Israel will be found by the Arabs and Israelis working together and committing themselves to guaranteeing the future effectively.

Mr. Raphael Tuck

Am I not right in thinking that neither the West Bank nor the Gaza Strip is the recognised territory of any sovereign State but that both are part of the Palestine Mandate, an international trust, and, therefore, subject to negotiations as anticipated by Resolution 242, which requires changes to provide secure and recognised borders?

Mr. Judd

Resolution 242 requires secure borders but also calls upon Israel to be prepared to withdraw on all three fronts.

9. Mr. David Watkins

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise at the United Nations Security Council as a threat to peace in the Middle East the continued presence of Israeli troops in Southern Lebanon.

Mr. Judd

No, Sir.

Mr. Watkins

In that case, will my hon. Friend take the opportunity to press the United Nations for action to ensure the return to their homes with full compensation of the 200,000 refugees created by this Israeli military operation, bearing in mind that that would set no precedent since this would be entirely in line with United Nations resolutions in regard to refugees in this part of the world for 30 years, although none of them has ever been implemented?

Mr. Judd

The humanitarian problems facing refugees in this area must be a major consideration for us all. But the first priority, to which we are all committed to find a solution, is to re-establish peace and security on that frontier.

Mr. Henderson

Does the Minister feel that it would be appropriate at this stage to remind the House of the provocation that Israel suffered, which led to the incursion into Lebanon? Does he also feel that it would be useful if those who are pressing this matter today were to call for these States to recognise Israel as a State and to give guarantees that there will be no future incursions of a terrorist nature across Israel's borders?

Mr. Judd

No one can condone the terrorist activity that preceded the invasion of South Lebanon. Indeed, this Government have made plain how disgusted they were by the whole episode. If we wish to find a lasting solution in the Middle East, a willingness by the Arab States to recognise Israel's right to existence and to guarantee it would help forward that solution, without doubt.

Mr. Hooley

Does my hon. Friend agree that perhaps there is a prior right of recognition of the Palestinians, whose land has been stolen.

Mr. Judd

I have already said, in answer to a previous question, that the legitimate rights and interests of the Palestinian people are factors which have to be taken into account if we are to find a lasting solution.

Mr. Rifkind

Further to the question posed by the hon. Member for Aberdeen-shire, East (Mr. Henderson), does the Minister agree that the demand for an evacuation of Israeli troops from Southern Lebanon would become unanswerable only if there were sufficient guarantees that such an evacuation would not lead to a renewal of terrorist incursions into Israeli villages?

Mr. Judd

I agree that the greater the speed with which the United Nations interim force in Lebanon can be put in place with the resources at its disposal to make its work effective, the more convincing will be the case that there will be no threat or danger to security in that area.

Mr. Litterick

Does the Minister agree that, given the persistence and the threat of war in the Middle East during the last 30 years and the present wretched situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, the policy followed by the United States, the USSR, France and the United Kingdom of supplying large quantities of armaments to every nation State in the Middle East has proved to be a disastrous failure for the peoples of the Middle East and that the United Kingdom is in duty bound to take some initiative to put an end to this murderous traffic?

Mr. Judd

I certainly agree with my hon. Friend that any nation which exports or sells arms to any part of the world must take fully into account the political considerations of such activity and whether it is likely to lead to greater prospects of peace and stability or to disrupt the prospects of stability in particular areas.