§ The Earl of Sandwichasked Her Majesty's Government:
What new and urgent initiatives they are taking bilaterally and through the European Union to further the Middle East peace process and implement United Nations resolutions leading to a viable Palestinian state. [HL935]
§ Baroness AmosThis Government have made clear their commitment to reinvigorate the Middle East peace process. My right honourable friend the Prime Minister met the Palestinian Authority President, Yasser Arafat, on 15 October and visited Egypt for talks with President Mubarak on 11 October. He travelled to Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority between 30 October and 1 November to meet regional leaders. The Foreign Secretary discussed the Middle East peace process with US Secretary of State Powell when he visited Washington on 23 and 24 October and also discussed the Middle East peace process with EU Foreign Ministers at the General Affairs Council on 29 October. Following that meeting the EU issued a declaration which called on Israel to withdraw from Area A land and the Palestinian Authority to arrest those responsible for violence against Israel, and called on both parties to resume negotiations.
We are working in concert with the US and EU to get the peace process back on track by urging restraint and a resumption of negotiations on the basis of the 2WA Tenet plan and the Mitchell Committee report. The goal remains a permanent settlement, based on UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and the principle of "land for peace"; security for Israel within recognised borders; and an end to occupation. which allows the emergence of a viable, democratic and peaceful Palestinian state committed to co-existence with Israel.