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A year or so ago a period of at least comparative calm existed in Israel and Palestine. Israel withdrew its forces and settlers from Gaza; levels of violence were significantly down; and the new President of Palestine began to establish himself. In January 2006 the Palestinian people gave a mandate to the representatives of Hamas. This led to demands and pressure from all sides for Hamas to adopt the Quartet's three principles: to renounce violence, to recognise Israel and to commit to the Roadmap.
At the beginning of June 2006, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert visited the UK. He made clear that he would be prepared to work for a negotiated settlement with any genuine Palestinian partner for peace. And on 22 June in Jordan, President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert met for the first time in over a year. These were tentative but important signs of progress.
But Palestinian extremists began again to step up rocket attacks on Israel and the Israelis to respond with artillery fire; tragically, a family of seven Palestinians were killed on a beach in Gaza.
And it was in this situation of substantially heightened tensions that Palestinian militants tunnelled into Israel, killed two soldiers and abducted a third. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that this was a deliberate attempt to destroy those first small signs of a move towards dialogue.
We should recall how the conflict between Israel and Hizbollah began. On 12 July, Hizbollah chose to cross into Israel, to kill eight Israeli soldiers and to kidnap two more. It is impossible to see this action as anything other than a calculated attempt by extremist forces to further destabilise the region, without the slightest regard for the potential impact of their actions on the people of Lebanon.
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On 16 July the Prime Minister and other G8 leaders in St Petersburg set out the conditions needed for an urgent cessation of violence. They also called on Israel to exercise utmost restraint, seek to avoid casualties among innocent civilians and damage to civilian infrastructure and to refrain from acts that would destabilise the Lebanese government.
It was at the St Petersburg meeting that the Prime Minister and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan first advanced the idea of an international force to help bring stability to the border area between Lebanon and Israel. Since then the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have worked closely with Israel, Lebanon, the US and France to put this idea into practice.
From the very beginning the UK has actively supported the efforts of the UN and the EU High Representative Javier Solana to bring an end to this conflict. UK helicopters flew Javier Solana and UN Secretary General's Special Envoy Vijay Nambiar to Beirut and provided them with logistical support on the ground.
We supported the UN's calls for humanitarian corridors and safe and unrestricted humanitarian access. The UK has allocated a total of £22.3 million to meet priority relief needs in Lebanon. UK teams of humanitarian and recovery and reconstruction advisors have been in Beirut since the start of the crisis and have been working closely with the Government of Lebanon.
From the very beginning our immediate priority was to secure the safe evacuation of British citizens trapped in Lebanon. Between 17 and 23 July the UK safely evacuated over 4,600 people from Lebanon. We have also brought some 2,253 people from Cyprus to the UK, mainly on specially chartered flights. We deployed 114 additional staff to Cyprus and Beirut to assist with the evacuations. The FCO emergency response team handled approximately 600 calls a day for the first 5 days of the crisis.
The Foreign Secretary attended an EU Foreign Ministers' meeting on 17 July at which EU ministers called for the release of the abducted Israeli soldiers and for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
The Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth, Dr Howells, visited the region from 21-24 July. He met the Lebanese Prime Minister, the Palestinian President and the Israeli Foreign Minister. Dr Howells discussed solutions to the current crisis and expressed his support for the Lebanese and Israeli governments and Palestinian President Abbas.
The Foreign Secretary attended the International Conference on Lebanon in Rome on 26 July. Contrary to media reports all ministers in attendance were united in calling for an urgent cease-fire that must be lasting, permanent and sustainable and building on UK thinking, agreed that an International Force in Lebanon should urgently be authorised under a UN mandate to support the Lebanese Armed Forces in providing a secure environment.
Diplomatic activity shifted into a new gear following the Prime Minister's meeting and press conference with President Bush on 28 July, at which they announced a plan covering: Dr Rice's return to the region; the holding of a meeting at the UN to discuss the proposed international stabilisation force; and early tabling of, and agreement on, a Security Council resolution to allow the cessation of hostilities.
The tragic and terrible Israeli attack on Qana on 30 July, leaving over 50 dead, has given further impetus to the international effort to bring about an urgent, sustainable ceasefire. Further stepping up the diplomatic activity, the Foreign Secretary spoke over the weekend to nine foreign ministers, and the Prime Minister spoke to all the key world leaders including Lebanese Prime Minister Siniora.
At an EU Foreign Ministers' meeting on 1 August, the Foreign Secretary and other EU Ministers agreed to call for a cessation of hostilities leading to a permanent cease-fire. It was also agreed that the EU were united in their determination to bring the violence to an end as soon as possible and as in Rome a number of major countries as well as the EU's High Representative made it clear that the wording agreed was in their view preferable to a simple call for an immediate cease-fire.
Following prolonged negotiations at the UN, the Foreign Secretary flew to New York on 10 August to use her influence to bring matters to the earliest possible end. This followed a period of intense diplomatic activity, in which the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and Dr Howells were all heavily engaged. The remaining issues of difference were finally resolved early on 11 August, following a further round of contacts in New York and between capitals. The Security Council then moved rapidly to final agreement on UNSCR 1701. Its adoption was immensely welcome.
The resolution's objectives are clear: to bring about a full cessation of hostilities; to create the space for an urgent humanitarian relief effort; and to begin a process leading to a permanent ceasefire and a durable peace. This last point is crucial. We needed a resolution that looked beyond the short-term and held out the prospect of a lasting solution. That meant agreeing a text which took proper account of the positions of the sovereign and elected governments of both Lebanon and Israel. That was not straightforward, and took time and effort. But we believe firmly it was the right thing to do.
Urgent work has been undertaken to strengthen the UN Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), in order to carry out the range of important new tasks set out in UNSCR 1701 to help stabilise the peace. The force will be led by France until February 2007, and then by Italy. On 25 August, EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels pledged up to 7,000 troops and a range of sea, air and specialist assets. Due to our current operational commitments elsewhere, the UK will not be able to provide ground troops. But we have sent HMS York to participate in the Interim Maritime Force and we would consider providing, in addition, two E3 AWACS and six Jaguar aircraft if needed. We are willing to respond positively to requests to use our Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus. We are also paying our share of the costs of the UN operation, on which we pay a premium as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
On 7 September, Israel announced the lifting of its blockade on Lebanon, following assurances from the international community that an Interim Maritime Task Force would patrol Lebanese waters in co-ordination with the Lebanese Government. The UK worked hard with international partners to help to secure this agreement.
The Foreign Secretary visited Egypt from 6-8 September. The Foreign Secretary discussed Lebanon, the Middle East Peace Process and other regional issues with Egyptian President Mubarak, Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit and Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the Arab League.
The Prime Minister visited Israel, the Occupied Territories and Lebanon from 9-11 September. This was the first ever visit to Lebanon by a British Prime Minister. The Prime Minister signalled the UK's strong support for Prime Minister Siniora and his government. Prime Minister Siniora welcomed the UK's offer to play a role on Security Sector reform as well as the UK's commitment to spend £40 million in support of Lebanon. During the joint press conference, Prime Minister Siniora said that the UK had 'made certain contributions that reduced the damage that might or could have been inflicted on Lebanon'.
