Middle East situation

Speech delivered on Wed 15th Mar 2006

Graham Watson, on behalf of the ALDE Group. - Mr President, on behalf of the Liberal and Democratic Group, I too regret the fact that Mr Abbas has had to return home in such circumstances and I express my group's thanks to you for the statement that you made last night on this matter.

It certainly seems to us that where the tectonic plates of the world's three great monotheistic religions - Christianity, Judaism and Islam - are rubbing up against each other and causing sparks to fly, we need to proceed with extreme caution. This House should not underestimate the risk of a wider conflagration in the Middle East. The tragic events of 9/11 and the equally tragic response have seriously threatened the chances for continued peace in our world. Just as European Union diplomacy with Iran is being undermined by George Bush riding roughshod over the Non-Proliferation Treaty in his dealings with India, so our diplomacy on the Middle East is being jeopardised by the actions of Israel yesterday. I hope that the European Union, through the Council and Commission, will protest in the strongest terms to the Israeli Government about these actions.

There are questions to be asked about whether there was a conspiracy between the British and American monitors guarding the prison who left shortly before the Israelis moved in, and I hope the Council will come back to this House with a report once we know the full facts of the situation.

Nothing can justify the attack on the prison. Nor can anything justify the hostage-taking that followed. I hope we will be able to move quickly to restore calm and confidence and I hope that we will be able to see Mr Abbas back in this Chamber in a much more serene set of circumstances, so that we can discuss seriously with all sides how we can create a secure and lasting peace in that troubled region.

(Applause)