Derek McDowell
Question:27 Mr. McDowell asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the current position of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. [16832/00]
Written Answers. - Middle East Peace Process.
Proinsias De Rossa
Question:64 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the reintegration and the reconstitution of Palestine. [16833/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 27 and 64 together.
The Government strongly supports the Middle East peace process and, together with the European Union, we contribute actively to encouraging the Peace Process.
Peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians followed the signing of the Sharm-el-Sheikh Memorandum last September. Despite making a certain amount of progress, the talks have suffered many setbacks and have been suspended on a number of occasions including quite recently. The sudden death of President Assad – on which we have sent our condolences to the Government and people of Syria – introduces a further element of uncertainty.
Following the recent visit by the US Secretary of State to the region, talks between the Israelis and Palestinians resumed in Washington on 13 June. Depending on progress made, these talks are expected to be followed by a trilateral summit between Presidents Arafat and Clinton and Prime Minister Barak towards the end of June. Both the Israeli and Palestinian sides recognise that negotiations will have to be accelerated if the deadline of 13 September for reaching a settlement is to be met. Nevertheless, the difficulties are considerable. There are three particularly contentious issues: borders, Jerusalem and return of refugees. It is the Government's hope that it will be possible to arrive at an agreement which will deal comprehensively with all the issues arising in the Palestinian Track of the Peace Process, as well as in the Lebanese and Syrian Tracks. This alone can guarantee a just and lasting peace settlement.
At this point it is extremely difficult to assess the prospects. We wish both parties every success in their endeavours. Once again, we would call on them to refrain from any acts which would make the negotiations more difficult, whether through resort to violence or the creation of new facts on the ground. We call on them also to take all necessary steps to re-establish mutual confidence, to accept the need for making concessions, and to focus on the overriding goal of achieving lasting peace and stability in the region.
In its Berlin Declaration of 24-25 March 1999 the European Council reaffirmed the continuing and unqualified Palestinian right to self-determination, including the option of a State, and looked forward to the early fulfilment of this right. We hope that the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which have now entered their most critical phase, will bring about the reintegration and reconstitution of Palestine as soon as possible.