P. J. Sheehan
Question:19 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on his views on the Middle East peace process. [12849/00]
Written Answers. - Middle East Peace Process.
Breeda Moynihan-Cronin
Question:29 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government's view of the current state of the Middle East peace process. [13076/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 29 together.
Ireland strongly supports the Middle East peace process and, together with our partners in the European Union, we are making every effort to encourage all the parties involved to work towards a just and lasting settlement.
The peace process was relaunched with the signing of the Sharm-el-Sheikh Memorandum last September by President Arafat and Prime Minister Barak. This memorandum provided for implementation of existing agreements under the Wye River accord and the resumption of final status negotiations, to be concluded by 13 September.
Since then a number of measures have been implemented, such as transfer of territory from Israeli to Palestinian control, release of Palestinian prisoners, and the opening of a safe passage between Gaza and the West Bank. Serious difficulties, however, have arisen in each of these areas.
Furthermore, the final status negotiations will have to address very complex problems if a comprehensive settlement is to be reached, such as the status of Jerusalem, water, settlements, borders, and return of refugees.
The difficulties encountered had led to a standstill in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. In particular, there are disputes over what territory is to be transferred and over continued Israeli settlement building, as well as over Jerusalem and the shape of a future Palestinian state. The combination of these factors undoubtedly led to a loss of confidence in the negotiating atmosphere, particularly on the Palestinian side.
This stalemate has now been broken and the Israelis and Palestinians have resumed nego tiations. This is an encouraging sign, although progress is slow and the complexity of the problems to be tackled means that the deadline of 13 September for conclusion of the negotiations has now become a very ambitious one.
We wish both parties every success in their efforts. At the same time, we would call on them to refrain from any acts which would complicate the negotiations further; to take all necessary measures to rebuild mutual confidence; to show a readiness to make concessions; and to focus their attention on the ultimate goal of lasting peace and stability in the region.
Negotiations between Syria and Israel remain blocked. We regret that the recent meeting in Geneva between President Clinton and President Assad of Syria failed to agree a basis for renewed talks. Nevertheless, we believe that difficulties over the defining of the border can still be overcome and we hope that talks will resume in the near future.
The Government is deeply concerned at the recent escalation of violence in Lebanon and we call on all sides to show restraint and return to the terms of the 1999 understanding, prohibiting the targeting of, or launching attacks from, civilian areas.
On the other hand, we have taken note of commitments by the Lebanese, Syrian and Israeli Governments to co-operate with the UN on a complete and unconditional Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon by July, in line with Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426. We would encourage them to take all necessary measures to allow a complete withdrawal in orderly conditions.
On April 24, I met with the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Ms Louise Fréchette, and senior officials of the UN Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Political Affairs to discuss the Government's concerns about the safety and security of the Irish personnel serving with UNIFIL. I was assured by the Deputy Secretary-General that the UN shares our concerns for the safety and security of all UN personnel in southern Lebanon and that the UN is fully committed to sharing all information with troop contributing countries. UN special Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen has just completed a visit to the region to seek the full co-operation of all the parties and the strongest possible guarantees for the security of the members of UNIFIL after the withdrawal.