Stop the Violence!

Towards a European peace initiative in the Middle East

The latest suicide attacks in Tel Aviv and the Israeli reprisals have cruelly shattered the last few days' fragile hope of peace in the Middle East, revealing the tragedy of the Middle East conflict to the world community once again. Every terrorist attack and military countermeasure deepen the chasm of hate and enmity in the Middle East, making the path to peace ever more impassable. Both sides know that peaceful co-existence is essential. Palestinian terrorism will not succeed in undermining Israel's right to exist, nor can the Palestinians' willingness to resort to violence be curbed by disproportionate military countermeasures. It is a tragic error if Arafat believes that he can gain more, or if Sharon imagines that he can give away less, through violence.

For the FDP, Israel's unreserved right to exist is inviolable. For us, this is as integral to the fundamental political principles to which Germany is committed as the transatlantic Alliance, Franco-German friendship or the conduct of German policy in the context of European integration. The FDP has shaped and implemented this policy under Walter Scheel, Hans-Dietrich Genscher and Klaus Kinkel over many decades. Germany's close and multi-faceted cooperation based on trust with Israel is the outcome, first and foremost, of Liberal foreign policy. This will continue in future. German Liberals resolutely oppose anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. No one seeking a political home for their anti-Israeli policies will find it with us.

No right of resistance anywhere in the world justifies the recruitment of suicide bombers who take innocent people with them to their deaths.

The FDP therefore appeals to Yassir Arafat and the Palestinian leadership:

Stop the terrorism! Terrorists and their masters must be brought to justice swiftly and put behind bars.

We Liberals also appeal to the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, and his Government to do everything in their power to open the way for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. The settlement policy and Israel's massive military action in the autonomous territories simply escalate the spiral of violence. There is no doubt that the many innocent lives lost and the destruction of the Palestinians' civil infrastructure deepen the rift between nations and are meeting with growing incomprehension, especially among Israel's friends. Israel must implement the relevant UN resolutions if it expects the international community to support its legitimate interests.

Israel has the right to a secure existence. The Palestinians also have the right to live in their own viable and democratic state. To this end, not only must the terrorist attacks cease: Israel must withdraw its tanks, and stop and reverse the building of settlements.

Since the process has stalled yet again, comprehensive and concerted action by all the international community's key actors is required. Massive international pressure - especially from America - is essential to increase the parties' willingness for peace. The Madrid meeting between the US, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations 'Quartet' was a good start. The key prerequisite for the international safeguarding of a peace in the Middle East is an end to violence, and this must include establishing conditions worthy of human dignity in the Palestinian refugee camps. Not only the Arab neighbours of the parties to the conflict but the Arab League as a whole have a particular responsibility in this context.

For the FDP, a durable peace settlement in the Middle East goes far beyond safeguarding the existence of the Israeli and Palestinian states. Such a settlement must find answers to the urgent social, economic and ecological problems facing the region now and in future. We therefore call upon the Federal Government, but also the political parties and civil society, to invest all their energies in seeking a peaceful resolution. Military measures are no substitute for political solutions. For the FDP, deploying German soldiers in the Middle East is out of the question.

The Middle East urgently requires a process of regional confidence-building which is supported by the international community, as a basis for a security architecture which safeguards the peaceful co-existence of Arabs and Israelis in the region. As a country whose history was crucially influenced by the CSCE process, Germany should take the initiative here, both within the European Union and the United Nations.

The FDP therefore calls for the following measures:

·based on the successful CSCE/OSCE model which helped overcome the division of Europe, an initiative should be launched for an international Conference on Security and Cooperation in the Middle East, culminating in a durable peace settlement for the region as a whole;

·Germany, in cooperation with its European Union partners and especially the Spanish Presidency, should reach agreement on a similar initiative by the EU, to be coordinated by the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy;

·the United Nations and its Secretary-General Kofi Annan should play a key role in implementing this CSCME initiative;

·the European partners should work jointly for a UN Security Council recommendation defining the framework for a CSCME process, including appropriate confidence-building measures (disarmament and arms control agreements, conflict prevention, crisis management, early warning etc.).

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