November 05, 2008	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 6, 1429

LONDON, Nov 4: In what sounded like a vital policy statement of his country, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Tuesday that the prolonged delay in achieving a peaceful settlement in the Middle East was creating disillusionment among both the Israelis and the Palestinians.

The disillusionment was creating danger in the region which must be addressed urgently, he said while speaking at an annual meeting of ‘Labour Friends of Israel’ here.

He said the Middle East was undergoing one of the most tumultuous and dangerous periods of its contemporary history.

“What happens over the next few years – whether a two state solution is reached, whether a model of extremism and violence is viewed as inspiration or illusion, whether Arab public opinion moves towards acceptance of Israel or denial of its right to exist – will be of vital importance for many years to come.

“For so many in Israel, the never-ending peace process appears as an endless disenchantment. They feel threatened and under siege. They have faced attacks from Gaza and Lebanon after unilateral withdrawal. They saw an electoral victory handed to Hamas which vows to destroy them. They fear growing militancy in the region, led by the looming shadow of a nuclear Iran,” said the foreign secretary.

“For Palestinians, feeling cheated and abused, there are equal fears. That the grandiose peace promise is a scam. That talks are a screen to cover continued settlement expansion, home demolition, land confiscation and the daily indignities of occupation. They talk with Israel, but fear they are being robbed of that which they are supposed to be talking about.

“Both peoples are told talks are progressing. That more time is needed. But the Israeli and Palestinian people are losing faith in a fair settlement, not because it is outlandish but because it is at once so close and so elusive.

“They are tiring of the conflict. But they are also tiring, faster, of efforts to resolve it, a condition that is far worse.

“One reason is that the practical situation on the ground undermines the political process, just as the political process frames the situation on the ground. There is a vicious circle.

“Settlements are one reason. At Annapolis the Israeli government re-committed to the roadmap provisions to freeze settlements. But in the first six months after Annapolis there was an 80 per cent increase in new construction in the West Bank initiated by the Israeli Ministry of Housing and Construction. Those figures do not include East Jerusalem: there, tenders have been published for over 1,700 housing units since Annapolis. “Settlement activity is illegal; it also makes a Palestinian state more difficult to achieve by the week.

“But settlements are not the only reason for the loss of confidence in the peace process. So are rocket attacks. So is the flow of increasingly lethal arms to Hezbollah and Hamas. And pragmatic and moderate Palestinian leadership is under threat: if Mahmood Abbas and Salaam Fayyad cannot broker a deal, there are extremists waiting in the wings and ready to pounce.

“So disillusion creates danger; and danger needs to be addressed.”

Mr Miliband added: “The Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 — which offers full normalisation of relations with Israel in exchange for withdrawal from occupied land — was one of the most significant and promising developments since the onset of the conflict.”