Laying The Groundwork For A Palestinian State

Bandar Seri Begawan - Millions of people across Lebanon, the Occupied Territories and Israel were deeply affected by the summer's violence. Large numbers were evacuated and saw their homes and livelihoods destroyed. And most tragically, many continue to suffer the trauma of having lost a loved one.

We in Britain were, and are, deeply conscious of these effects. That is why from the beginning of the crisis the UK worked intensively behind the scenes to secure the earliest possible sustainable cease-fire.

Tony Blair was the first world leader to speak publicly about the need for a UN force as part of a comprehensive package for a lasting peace. On August 11, I myself went to New York to push hard for the earliest possible agreement on a resolution and its rapid implementation.

Today the cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon is allowing those affected to begin rebuilding their lives. Now we must put all our effort into ensuring that such a conflict does not reoccur.

Helping to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has always been one of the UK's highest foreign policy priorities. Prime Minister Tony Blair and I hope that our recent visits to the region will be the beginning of a process to establish the framework for guiding the sides back to the negotiating table and moving past the current deadlock.

Central to the creation of a Palestinian state is the creation of fully-functioning government institutions. These cannot be expected to spontaneously appear in response to the signing of a final status agreement. Rather, by working now towards this end, we can all help strengthen the Palestinians' hand in negotiations on the nature of that Palestinian state.

This is why the UK and its EU partners place so much emphasis on working with the Palestinians to achieve genuine progress towards this goal, even though we are aware of the difficulty of undertaking such a project under continuing occupation.

This is not by any means an alternative to work towards a final settlement, but precisely in order that the conditions will exist to make such a final settlement realisable.

Thus, in addition to supporting the political process, the UK is helping develop the institutions and economy of a future Palestinian state. For example, the UK has supported work on security sector reform and instigated projects to improve the capacity of the Palestinian ministries, and the police, so that these institutions could function as the organs of a fully-fledged state.

We are pushing hard to ensure the regular opening of crossing points which are vital arteries for the movement of goods and people; and on plans to improve security at the Karni crossing to enable Palestinians to export their harvests. This practical support is vital for improving the lives of ordinary people and in ensuring that a future Palestinian state is a functioning and thriving entity.

When people lose faith in the possibility of peace, those who don't want progress gain an opportunity to set an agenda of violence, confrontation and hatred. Violence only adds to the mistrust and human suffering and puts off the tough but unavoidable process of talking too the opposite side in order to bring about a definitive solution. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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