(British Foreign Secretary Jack) Straw commends "courage" of Geneva Initiative negotiators

The Jerusalem Post ^ | 15 October 2003 | DOUGLAS DAVIS

[anotherview]

Oct. 15, 2003
Straw commends "courage" of Geneva Initiative negotiators
By DOUGLAS DAVIS
LONDON

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
Photo: AP

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw yesterday praised the "courage" of Israeli and Palestinian "negotiators" who were involved in the Geneva Initiative.

According to some media reports, British officials played a central behind-the-scenes role in drafting the "agreement," which would give Palestinians sovereignty over the Temple Mount while nullifying the Palestinians' right to return.

Addressing parliament, Straw did not refer to Britain's involvement, but he said: "I commend the courage of all of those involved, especially Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo. . . The plan provides a realistic two-state solution, on the basis of land for peace."

He noted that "it is similar to that which was negotiated at Taba, under a different Israeli cabinet and government, and it deserves support.

"The fact that it may not receive support illustrates one of the profound frustrations of the current situation, in which solid majorities in both communities are desperate for peace and security, but neither side's political leaders know how to get there at present.

"We recognise our duty to assist them in every way we can," but he conceded: "The auguries are not encouraging at the moment."

In answer to a parliamentary question, Straw also said that the British government "remains concerned about the overt and covert support given to rejectionist terrorist groups by the government of Syria. It is unacceptable and is not in Syria's long-term interests."

He added that Britain and Germany had led the drive to freeze the assets of Hamas throughout the European Union.

Straw dismissed calls for a dialogue with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, noting that there is "no point in having a dialogue with groups that make it clear that they have murderous intent and which are seeking simply to blow up any prospect of peace."

"There was every opportunity for Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hizbullah to support the road map for peace. . . They failed to do so, and displayed a wilful desire to disrupt and undermine the elected Palestinian government," he said.

He noted that "their planting of terrorist bombs in Jerusalem on August 19 was the single most important cause of the breakdown of progress on the road map."

Straw reiterated that the British government "regards the building of the [security fence] on Palestinian land as unlawful.

"No one can have any objection to any sovereign state building a wall or fence along its international border, but that is wholly different from building a wall or fence on someone else's territory. It is Palestinian land," he declared.

"Anybody who is unconcerned about the building of the wall and its effects needs to look at a map of the route that it has taken. We have indeed made our concerns well known, both to the Israeli ambassador and to the Israeli Government.

However, while Britain considered the decision to build the fence as "unlawful and unacceptable," he said that "it must be understood that the decision to build the wall was not an abstract one. It arose from a profound sense of fear among people in Israel and from their belief that they have to protect their security.

"That does not make the decision lawful or justifiable in our view, but it does explain it.

"If we want to see an end to such actions and to get the road map back on track, the first and essential precondition is for Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the other rejectionist terrorist groups to announce a ceasefire and give up the idea that it will be possible to help the Palestinians to achieve a peaceful and secure future through the sort of terrible and rejectionist terror that those groups adopt."

[anotherview]

I wonder if Jackass Straw would be in favor of former Tory MPs negotiating for the U.K.

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[Beth Yiroel]

The accords are terrible. I'm saying so not because i don't want peace, its just that Blair and Straw in their naivete don't realise that the Palestinians will just use this as a starting point and ask "well what else is coming our way?"

[Turbodog]

"No one can have any objection to any sovereign state building a wall or fence along its international border, but that is wholly different from building a wall or fence on someone else's territory. It is Palestinian land,"

Palestinian land? Jordan illegally occupied Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip was illegally occupied by Egypt before the 1967 defensive war. Both countries gave up any and all claims to those territories when they negotiated their respective peace agreements with Israel. Furthermore, the Arab partition was rejected in 1947, and hence, it is null and void. So per the Balfour Declaration, those territories legally and lawfully belong to Israel. And, there was never before in history a country called Palestine.

[anotherview]

Actually, the Balfour Declaration is not the relevant document since it is not an international treaty. The 1919 treaty between the British and the Hashemite King of Jordan and Iraq also placed the border of the then future Jewish state at the Jordan River. As the last boundary recognized by international treaty it would still be in force. The UN and the Arabs conveniently ignore that fact.