London Middle East peace conference to go ahead
Tony Blair has confirmed that he will be hosting a conference on the future of the Palestinian Authority in London next year.
No date has yet been officially set, but the betting is on Downing Street in the early part of the year, potentially even January.
It will be designed to establish a plan to ensure Palestine is prepared to stand alone as a viable state once the process of disengagement in the region is completed.
But, the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon will not be attending.
During a press conference in Jerusalem, British Prime Minster Tony Blair – who proposed the meeting – maintained that it was never the intention that Israel should attend. However, both he and Mr Sharon underlined the need for Israel to keep involved in the process.
When asked what Israel’s official position was on the planned meeting, Mr Sharon said that he supported the initiative taken by Prime Minister Blair to host an international meeting in London. But he highlighted that the meeting was associated with the internal workings of Palestine.
As such, he revealed that Israel had decided – in consultation with Britain – not to participate in the meeting.
“We have discussed this issue with the British” he said, and reported that both sides were in agreement that there was no need for Israeli involvement.
However, Mr Sharon stressed that Israel regarded the meeting to be very important.
Mr Blair said that it was never anticipated that Israel should attend the meeting. Although he stressed that it was important for Israel to be involved.
The British Prime Minister explained that the purpose of the meeting was to develop a plan to ensure the viability of a Palestinian state so that once disengagement was completed progress could be made on the roadmap.
Mr Blair said: “I am not interested in just having a conference that just makes a point”. There had been enough meetings and discussions on the situation in the Middle East. He stressed that ultimately it was down to Israel and Palestine to negotiate and find a solution to the problems in the region.
However, he argued that “unless there is a genuine viable partner” built on democracy, a transparent economy, and measures in place to ensure security and give Israel confidence in its security “we are never going to get back into the roadmap”.
Mr Blair underlined the need to support the new Palestinian leader in taking this process forward and stressed that it was “not about us imposing something on the Palestinians”, but the international community had to work with Palestine to build a solution.
Commenting on the announcement, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, Sir Menzies Campbell, said it was “regrettable” that the Israelis were not participating.
Sir Menzies said: “The Prime Minster’s initiative should be applauded and supported. But it is regrettable that Israel will not participate.
“The last time something of this kind took place Palestinians were prevented from travelling to London. The Israeli government should be asked to give an undertaking that nothing similar will happen on this occasion.”
