Brussels, 30/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - Giving fresh impetus to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which has been at a standstill for months, and reaffirming the EU's support for the Lebanese government, which is in difficulty due to internal division: - such is the mission assigned to EU High Representative for CFSP Javier Solana who met the main interlocutors for the region during a six-day marathon tour which took him from Israel to Egypt including Lebanon from 25 to 30 October.
Reactivation of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been on hold for months pending the conclusion of an agreement between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas , the Fatah leader, and Hamas, which has headed the Palestinian government since March, to form a government of national unity. Discussions, however, come up against the constant refusal by the Palestinian extremist movement to renounce violence and to recognise Israel. Mr Solana therefore confirmed the EU's support for President Abbas in his attempt to form a government of independent experts and professionals which, once in place, would allow the political and economic boycott, imposed on the Palestinian Authority since Hamas came to power, to be lifted. He very much hoped that there would be positive news in the next few days, he said on 29 October while in Cairo, Egypt, the last leg of his tour. He foresaw the Palestinian cabinet as a “government of experts, a government of professionals”, saying: “I hope very much that at the end of a few days we will have news about the possibility of that initiative”. He added that the EU would like this to be the case, as reported by AFP after a meeting with Egyptian President Hosnit Moubarak. He also welcomed the work done by Egypt in controlling its border with the Gaza Strip. Speaking from Tel Aviv during his stay there on 25 and 26 October, Javier Solana urged in favour of re-opening the Rafah border point crossing, between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. As reported by AFP, Solana said they hoped they would receive a response regarding renewal of their presence in Rafah in several days or weeks, preferably days. The Israeli Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tzipi Livni, said they would be negotiating with the Egyptians on the future conditions of their commitment at the border crossing but that they are very pleased with the European role for supervision of the Rafah crossing.
The other aim of Mr Solana's tour across the region was to reaffirm EU support for Lebanon in general, in the wake of the war between the Hebrew State and Hezbollah, and also for the government under Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, disrupted by rival Lebanese factions. Speaking from Beirut on 28 October, Mr Solana said the European Union appreciates the way Mr Siniora has acted during this difficult period and assured him of the European Union's support. In order to rebuild the country, he added, Lebanon will need the financial and material assistance of the international community, and the European Union will be at its side. Before meeting the Lebanese Prime Minister, Mr Solana had met General Alain Pelligrini, Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), whom he had urged to put pressure on the Israeli government to stop its incursions into Lebanese airspace. Although, on the whole, application of UN Resolution 1701, which brought the conflict to an end, is being carried out in a positive manner, Mr Solana was pleased to note, the EU High Representative joined with France (see AN of 24 October) in calling for an end to Israeli incursions . He said he had arrived from Israel to say that he had spoken with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defence Minister Amir Peretz and that he had clearly stated incursions must stop. The Israeli Defence Minister nonetheless said that the Hebrew States intended to continue its air incursions until Resolution 1701 is fully applied. Israel accuses Beirut of not meeting its commitments, i.e. by not putting an end to the smuggling of weapons intended for the Hezbollah. UNIFIL is not able to confirm or deny this information. “We do not really know whether arms are entering Lebanon. We cannot be sure”, Spokesperson Daljeet Bagga said. (dt)