Rudd says negotiate now
WITH the Palestinian bid for statehood stalled in the United Nations Security Council, an Australian decision on whether or not to vote in favour of a new Palestine has been a moot point early this week.
WITH the Palestinian bid for statehood stalled in the United Nations Security Council, an Australian decision on whether or not to vote in favour of a new Palestine has been a moot point early this week.
Australia is not a member of the Security Council and will only get a say on statehood if and when the vote reaches the UN General Assembly. The Government has maintained this week it will not support or oppose any resolution until it sees the draft text.
This has not stopped Australia’s Foreign Minister speaking out at the United Nations on the Palestinian plan to push ahead with a two-state solution, before resolving the sticky issues that have prevented peace for more than six decades.
In an address to the General Assembly in New York last Thursday, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said during his three recent visits to Israel and the Palestinian territories he had pushed for direct negotiations between the parties.
“I have argued that these should occur on the basis of the 1967 boundaries plus appropriate land swaps. I have argued that the remaining final status issues on the right of return, the status of Jerusalem, the holy sites and the provision of external security be resolved through these direct negotiations,” Rudd said.
Rudd has repeatedly warned that peace needs to be negotiated sooner rather than later and re-issued this warning.
“We have already seen tension between Israel and Egypt. We have already seen the fracturing of the relationship between Israel and Turkey. We do not know how long the current framework of the Arab peace plan will remain on the table. We are fearful of a further intifada of the type we have seen before.”
In a later press conference, Rudd added that Australia took the Middle East peace process seriously because “we have both Jewish and Palestinian and broader Arab communities in our country”.
He also elaborated on the positives a negotiated peace would bring to the region arguing it would benefit the Israeli economy by opening up a whole new Arab market once Arab countries recognised Israel.
Peace between the Israelis and Palestinians would also allow the world to refocus its attentions on Iran, Rudd said.
The former prime minister revealed that Australia is “in the deepest consultation with those associated with the Quartet process as well as the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority” in order to monitor progress.
He added “every ounce of diplomatic energy” he had would go towards peace once Israel and the Palestinians resumed negotiations.
NAOMI LEVIN
Photo: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas
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