The United Kingdom, as Presidency of the European Union, condemned the suicide attack perpetrated on 12 July in Netanya where at least two people were killed and many others wounded. British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, said: 'The Presidency condemns this act of terror in the strongest terms, and offers condolences to the families of the victims and sympathies to the injured.' Mr Straw continued: 'A determined fight against terrorism is crucial for the search for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. The Presidency urges all States in the region to use their influence in this regard.'
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G8 Foreign Ministers met in London on 23 June to discuss a range of global and regional issues. The meeting focussed on the situation in Afghanistan – on which we have issued a separate statement – the Middle East and Iran. We also exchanged views on UN Reform, international trade in arms, and developments in the Western Balkans, Sudan, North Korea, Iraq, Lebanon, Zimbabwe and Haiti.
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Speaking at the second session of the G8 Summit at Lancaster House in London, the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, discussed the Middle East Peace Process: 'We have moved on a big step in recent months because we are now focussing on some practical realities - great opportunities but also potential difficulties as well.' In the doorstep interview on 23 June with Jim Wolfensohn, the Quartet’s Special Envoy on the Middle East, Mr Straw added that the Roadmap, with it's sole purpose of creating a secure State of Israel living alongside a separate and viable and secure State of Palestine, remains alive.
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In his opening remarks at a Press Conference with Mr Nasser al-Qidwa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Authority, the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, said that this is a time of hope and opportunity in the Middle East. Speaking on 8 June, Mr Straw said that 'with good leadership in the Palestinian Authority, and with co-operation from the Israeli government and the full support of the international community, we can create that better future.'
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The Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, will travel to Israel and the Occupied Territories from 7-8 June. Mr Straw will call on the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, and in the Occupied Territories he will meet the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, with Prime Minster Ahmed Qurei' and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasir Al Qudaw.
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Speaking in Washington at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, called for 'the expansion of a larger freedom around the world' in order to 'build a world which is safer and better, for our citizens and for all its citizens'. In his speech delivered on 18 May, which set out his priorities for the UK's foreign policy, Mr Straw highlighted three priorities to focus towards: democratic governance; security and the fight against poverty. Advancing those vital aims, he said, requires 'a renewed alliance for freedom between Europe and the United States'. Discussing the Middle East, the Foreign Secretary cited the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the greatest challenge to the success of freedom in the region, and highlighted the need for 'a solution based on democracy, and buttressed by it – one not just of two states, but of two democracies living side by side in peace and security.' Mr Straw also discussed reform of the United Nations and underlined the need to address the 'immense' challenge of Africa.
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The Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, will deliver a speech setting out his priorities for the UK's foreign policy under the new Government. Mr Straw will make his speech, entitled 'A Partnership for Wider Freedom', to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, on 18 May. He will argue for a reinvigorated alliance between Europe and the US in support of a wider freedom which embraces: freedom from fear, insecurity and conflict, with support for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process his first priority; freedom from poverty and want, especially in Africa; and support for the spread of democracy including a call for an international enquiry into the violence in Uzbekistan.
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In a speech at the Fabian Society on 10 March, the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, said that 'political reform in the Middle East is the best long-term recipe available for allowing the people of an enormously-important region to realise their potential; and for defeating the threats to their and our security.' Outlining how we can best support that process of reform, Mr Straw said that we 'must set democracy as our compass', stressing that democracy 'is not just the holding of regular votes, but a stable and strong set of institutions and norms.' He added: 'Those who claim that promoting democracy is a Western imposition should look to its success around the world, from Latin America to South-East Asia. It is not democracy which is an imposition, but tyranny.' Mr Straw also cited the importance of the UK and Europe as a whole working closely with the United States to promote democracy, before concluding that change and reform in the Middle East 'will not happen overnight... as in Lebanon, they must be led from within.'
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Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has made his closing statement at the London Meeting on Supporting the Palestinian Authority. Speaking of an 'independent, viable Palestinian state' Mr Blair said: 'what we have today is an agreement not just on behalf of the Palestinian authority that has got to usher in such a state, but also on behalf of the whole of the international community as to the practical steps, the foundation stones, necessary to create that viable state in the future.' He added: 'The benefit, if we are able to succeed, will not just be felt by the Palestinian people or the Israelis, vital and primary though that is, it will be felt by all of us.'
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Representatives from over 20 countries gathered in London on 1 March to attend the London Meeting on Supporting the Palestinian Authority. In his opening address, the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said that the purpose of the meeting was to 'try and help bring about the vision of the two state solution to the Middle East peace process which is an Israel confident of its security and a viable, independent Palestinian state.' The Prime Minister added that 'the significance of this issue and the Middle East peace process, or frankly lack of it over the past few years... is not confined to Israel, to Palestine, or even to the Middle East. It's something that concerns all the countries represented here today.' He concluded that this is 'a moment of opportunity, it is vital that we seize it.'