State backs Mideast talks, says Shatter

Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence Alan Shatter, wrapping up a Middle East visit, has pledged Ireland’s continuing support for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, despite reports that the negotiations are deadlocked.

Mr Shatter, after separate talks with Israel's chief negotiator, justice minister Tzipi Livni and senior Palestinian official Dr Nabil Sha'ath, told The Irish Times that Dublin fully supports the talks and hopes for a successful outcome.

“Everybody is familiar with the complexities of the issues that need to be dealt with. I would describe those engaged as hopeful. I don’t want to make any judgment about the dynamic of the negotiations taking place. The Irish Government and myself personally believe the only solution is a two-state solution,” he said.

“Clearly from the Israeli context a continuing and understandable concern is security, and from the Palestinian side there is an understandable concern that they get genuine independence as a new state and can get on with their lives.”

Mr Sha’ath said this week that no progress has been made during the five months of talks and that the reason the Palestinians are continuing with the discussions was to ensure that Israel releases another 52 veteran prisoners, under the terms agreed to when the talks resumed.

Interim agreement
Mr Shatter also met Israeli defence minister Moshe Ya'alon and said he understood Israeli concerns over last weekend's interim agreement signed in Geneva limiting Iran's nuclear programme.

“I fully understand in circumstances when another state has threatened to wipe you out that you would be concerned when they were obtaining enriched uranium and developing a heavy water facility. It is important that the international community seeks to address these issues in a manner that avoids a new conflict taking place in the region.”

Refugee camp
Much of Mr Shatter's four-day trip to the Middle East was devoted to the fallout from the Syrian civil war. He visited the largest refugee camp in Jordan and held discussions with Lebanese and Jordanian officials and aid workers on the devastating humanitarian crisis caused by the ongoing flood of refugees.

He held out little prospect that the conference on Syria scheduled to take place in January in Geneva will lead to an end to the fighting.

“I’m very pessimistic but I hope something can be achieved,” he said. “Clearly the fragmentation in Syria, the horrendous atrocities by all sides, and the terrible death toll does require that the international community make every effort to achieve a solution but achieving that will be enormously difficult. The opposition is so divided it’s difficult to see how Geneva can be successful at this stage.”

Mr Shatter welcomed the fact that Israel and the European Union reached agreement this week on Israel’s participation in the EU’s prestigious Horizon 2020 research and development project, after agreeing that no EU funds will be diverted to the occupied territories.

“It’s widely accepted that this is of huge benefit to both Israel and Europe – it’s very much a two-way street.”