UK-Israel-MPs
An all-party group of British MPs Thursday welcomed plans by Quartet envoy Tony Blair to set up economic enclaves in the West Bank but fear they may legitimize the Israeli occupation.
In a report on the Humanitarian and Development Situation in the Occupied Territories, the International Development Committee also criticized the Quartet for not pressing Israel to ease its inhumane seige of Gaza during the truce between Israel and Hamas.
"The truce offers an important opportunity to ease the restrictions imposed by Israel on Gaza's borders which have resulted in shortages of food, fuel and water and placed the population of Gaza under severe pressure," it said.
"The humanitarian situation in Gaza has seriously deteriorated since the closure of its borders. Israel has obligations to ensure the health and welfare of the Palestinian population, which it has not met." committee chair Malcolm Bruce said.
"We believe the situation was allowed to continue for too long and that the Quartet did not exert sufficient pressure on Israel to open the crossings," Bruce said.
The report criticized the continued expansion of Israeli settlements and the construction of the illegal barrier on occupied land as being counter-productive to the peace process.
It warned that these Israeli activities are illegal and said they create "new facts on the ground" whose removal will have to be negotiated."
While welcoming the championing of economic initiatives proposed by Blair, who gave evidence to the committee, it warned that the projects must facilitate the creation of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state and must not legitimize the Israeli occupation.
"The West Bank occupation must not be legitimized. There is a danger of creating two parallel universes in the West Bank, with a series of Palestinian enclaves served by separate road and entry systems alongside Israel's own network," Bruce stressed.
The parliamentary report commented that there needs to be a fundamental change in the current restrictions on movement and access in order to see lasting economic progress.
It welcomed the former British premier's efforts to reduce strategic checkpoints but again emphasized that Palestinians should be able to move around their own country for education, healthcare, business and social reasons.
This was "irrespective of whether their journeys are regarded as strategically significant to international negotiations," the committee said. "Neither Israel nor the international community should lose sight of this."
It also argued that the Annapolis peace process will not succeed without some kind of reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah and called on the Quartet to use the opportunity provided by the truce to begin a dialogue to facilitate a functional working relationship.
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