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Israel and the international community
Israel is an important strategic partner and friend for the UK. The UK and Israel hold a number of important shared objectives across a broad range of policy areas and countries.
These include: shared regional security concerns, including diplomatic efforts to deter Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons; international work to counter anti-Semitism (we appointed Sir Andrew Burns as UK envoy for post-Holocaust issues); bilateral defence cooperation; academic, scientific and cultural partnership; the promotion of democratic governance, judicial independence and media freedom; and building and maintaining strong trade and financial links.
That said, we do not hesitate to express disagreement to Israel where we feel necessary. Although we do not agree on everything, we enjoy a close and productive relationship. It is this very relationship that allows us to have the frank discussions often necessary between friends.
When the Foreign Secretary met Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman on 24 January 2011 he stressed that while the UK understands Israel’s security concerns, the current freeze in the Peace Process is not in the interests of Israelis, Palestinians or the wider region.
Israeli Settlements
We were extremely disappointed that Israel has not renewed the settlement freeze which expired in September 2010.
We continue to call on Israel to halt all settlements activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. This issue is raised with Israel by Ministers on a regular basis.
Israeli settlement activity is a major barrier to our pursuit of a lasting peace agreement in the Middle East. Settlements are not only illegal under international law and in direct contravention of Israel’s Roadmap commitments, but more practically they represent an attempt to create ‘facts on the ground’ which make a two-state solution harder to achieve.
The Israeli government’s policy of connecting settlements to already scarce water supplies and restricting Palestinian movement and access in Occupied Territory, including establishing a secondary road system to separate Palestinian and Israeli traffic makes matters worse.
The Israeli barrier
Israel has every right to defend itself, but the UK believes that barriers are not the best way to achieve this in the 21st century.
Where it is constructed outside of Green Line Israel the separation barrier is illegal both according to International and Israeli Law. Not only this, but by separating families and preventing farmers access to their land, it causes great distress and understandable anger amongst the Palestinian population.
This is unacceptable and in direct contravention of Israel’s stated desire to pursue peace with its neighbours.
Whilst we do not see it as a permanent solution, Israel reserves the right to build a barrier to defend itself. Although there have been some extensive improvements in the capacity and capability of the Palestinian Security Forces, Israel still faces some very real security concerns. Any barrier must, however, be constructed exclusively within Green Line Israel.
The Israeli courts have held that parts of the barrier constructed outside of Green Line Israel should be demolished. We look to the government of Israel to comply fully with the court’s decision.
We believe that the route of the barrier, where it is constructed outside of Green Line Israel, is counterproductive to Israel’s security in the long-term as it encourages extremism and engenders anti-Israeli feeling amongst many people around the globe. The best way of ensuring Israel’s security is to come to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace agreement with its neighbours.
The EU and Israel
We support closer ties between Israel and the international community, including the EU. However last year the EU decided not approve an upgrade to the EU-Israel Association agreement at that time, emphasising, rightly, that an upgrade in the relationship must be set against the context of our shared interests and objectives, including progress on the Middle East Peace Process.
Universal Jurisdiction
The UK is committed to upholding international justice and all of our international obligations. Our core principle is clear. Those guilty of war crimes must be brought to justice whether they are Israeli or any other nationality. We are also committed to ensuring that UK systems are robust in meeting its international law obligations.
We have recently introduced some legislative amendments to Parliament with respect to Universal Jurisdiction as part of the wider ‘Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill’. These amendments are intended to correct an anomaly that allows people to be detained even where there is no realistic chance of prosecution.
We must ensure that the UK’s systems cannot be mis-used or lead to unintended but serious consequences for international relations. The Government has decided that for a private prosecutor to obtain an arrest warrant under Universal Jurisdiction, they should have the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
This new measure would not change the right of any person to apply for an arrest warrant. But that warrant would only be granted if the DPP was satisfied that the evidence provided was sufficient potentially to lead to a successful prosecution.
Our proposed legislative changes will not in any way prevent cases being pursued where there is credible and admissible evidence. It is now important that the amendments are considered by Parliament in line with normal practice.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
In May 2010 the 31-member OECD invited Israel, Slovenia and Estonia to join its membership. The UK supported Israel’s application to the OECD; Israel is a significant economic power with growing UK trade and investment links.However, whilst we supported Israel’s accession we expect Israel to demonstrate readiness for compliance with the recommendations made by OECD bodies in the accession process. We attach particular importance to the continued commitment by all OECD members to the fundamental values, including respect for human rights which make the Organisation a potent instrument of global change and reform.
Our support for Israeli accession to the OECD in no way demonstrates an acceptance of illegal settlements, nor does it stand in the way of the creation of a viable Palestinian State. Although some Israeli statistics cover areas which we and the wider international community consider occupied territory, the OECD Secretariat has agreed to the addition of a footnote in all reports that use Israeli data.
The UK worked hard with EU partners to achieve sufficiently strong language and we are content that our clear position on the status of the OPTs is in no way compromised:
“This report/review/document is not intended to cover the territories known as the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. However, for technical reasons, it uses Israel’s official statistics, which include data relating to the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, and Israeli settlements in the West Bank. It is without prejudice to positions regarding those territories, which most members of the international community regard as occupied territory under the terms of international law.”