On March 7, 1996 I attended the inauguration of the Palestine Legislative Council as a representative of the House of Commons. I think I was the only MP present from a European Union Parliament, at the birth of the world’s newest legislative council for which hopes were high. On June 16, 2007 I watched on television a disgraceful scene as ill-disciplined masked gunmen invaded the Legislative Council building, and seized and then struck the deputy speaker. They demonstrated total contempt for the democracy the Palestinians pride themselves on.
In the intervening eleven years the Palestinians have been hurtling to disaster and their fall has yet to be arrested. Nobody should attempt to play down the damage that has been done to the hope of a Palestinian state, by the horrors of the last few days in Gaza and on the West Bank.
To the massacres and suicide bombers in Iraq, the tragedy of a fearful Lebanon and the possibility of an accidental conflict between newly reinforced American forces and Iranian forces, we now have to add to the region two divided Palestinian substates seriously at odds with each other. For decades Israel has sought to divide and rule the Palestinians — as colonial powers have frequently done elsewhere in history. At one stage Israel supported the growth of Hamas as a thorn in the side of Chairman Yasser Arafat. Now the Palestinians have been divided by their own fierce squabbles. They will not, I fear, be either quickly or easily united. That task is the responsibility of the Palestinian leadership; this can, and must, be assisted, where possible by the international community. A three-state solution could not possibly work.
On the map we now have an Islamist “Hamastan” with a population 1.4 million (993,818 of whom are refugees). 80 percent of the population depends on aid handouts. Gaza is desperately overcrowded, squalid and impoverished. In practice it is an Israeli prison with the prisoners in charge.
Fatah dominates the West Bank. It will now be rewarded as it is not Gaza, and, perhaps, to point out to Gaza the error of its ways. It will attempt to steer the way to a secular Palestine, and will attract a number of refugees from Gaza. Occupied by Israel, the Jewish population in the illegal settlements will continue to grow.
Israel, deeply mired in a domestic political crisis linked to the fighting against Hezbollah last summer, and under a prime minister, Ehud Olmert, who may not survive for much longer, is much to blame for the sense of hopelessness in Gaza which has increased support for Hamas. Of course, it will have been encouraged by the Palestinian split and will try to use its military might to further frustrate the Palestinian cause. But wiser heads in Israel will understand that security in Israel is seriously endangered by the political and social state of neighboring Gaza.
Like beads on a long necklace the missed chances and misjudgements leading to the present plight of the Palestinians stretch right back — as far as the Balfour Declaration of 1917 if you wish. The 40th anniversary of the Six Day War between Israel and some Arab States has just passed, and I am amazed that, to the disadvantage of Arabs and Israelis, so very little diplomatic progress has been made.
Our attention must focus on the grave humanitarian crisis just around the corner in Gaza which remains largely sealed off. Food has been in short supply. Medical Aid for Palestinians has been talking about malnutrition — even before the split — involving adults as well as children. Oxfam has faced severe restrictions. Even the courageous UN workers have found the conditions too dangerous for them to operate effectively. Pensions and welfare benefits have not been paid as the masked gunmen roamed the streets.
We are entitled to look to the United Nations Security Council in New York at such a time. This is not just a matter mainly for the Palestinians, Israelis and Egyptians. Peace and security in the Middle East are placed in danger by this crisis. I would like to see a conference being called, and involving the United Nations, United States, European Union and Russia as well as the local parties. Such a special conference could coordinate emergency relief and encourage diplomatic progress. The global community cannot escape some measure of responsibility. I end with the words of Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state: “There is one Palestinian people and there should be one Palestinian state.”
She also pledged £20 million to the United Nations relief effort in Gaza. Exactly the right response.
