Article by William Hague MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary

The Times, 3rd August, 2006

The Security Council must roll up its sleeves and mastermind a step-by-step confidence-building plan.

THE EVENTS OF the past few days have clearly demonstrated the depth of the Middle East crisis. A UN meeting to determine which countries might contribute troops to an international force was postponed. After a short lull in military activity after the tragic airstrike on Qana, Israel rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire, Hezbollah continued to rain rockets on Israeli towns and President Assad put the Syrian Army on a higher state of alert. Perhaps most worrying of all, diplomatic efforts appeared to have been derailed when Condoleezza Rice's visit to Beirut in pursuit of a ceasefire deal was abruptly cancelled and Israel announced that it would continue its offensive.

The origins of the current conflict lie in Hezbollah's aggression. As terrorists they should be condemned, rather than enjoy the encouragement and assistance of Syria and Iran. As David Cameron has made clear, our Government has been right to call for a sustainable ceasefire rather than an unconditional one -and Israel's demands for the return of captured soldiers, an end to rocket attacks and the complete disarmament of Hezbollah in accordance with UN Resolution 1559 are wholly legitimate.

But ministers were wrong to be so slow and reluctant to warn Israel of the dangers and injustice of attacks on purely civil infrastructure and other areas of Lebanon. The Government should have been able to say clearly two weeks ago that elements of the Israeli response were disproportionate, risking unnecessary loss of civilian life and an increase in popular support for Hezbollah.

Israel's friends should be frank about such actions. It is not in the interests of Israel or anyone else seeking peace to undermine Lebanon's democratic future. It was deeply depressing to see the Lebanese President in the wake of the Qana bombing publicly acknowledge the role of Hezbollah in the country's defence and even thank its leader. Hezbollah may end the current conflict with its "infrastructure entirely destroyed", as Ehud Olmert has announced, but also with its political position enhanced.

The world needs a secure Israel and a functioning Lebanon. Yet continuing conflict may make long-term peace even more elusive for Israel, while imposing an intolerable cost on the people of Lebanon and wrecking their hopes for the future.

That is why it has been so urgent to mount a decisive and concerted international effort to stop this crisis in its tracks.

Sadly, the response of the world's leaders has been uninspiring and divided.

Relationships they have been working on for years have not proved equal to the situation; neither the UN Security Council nor the EU have been able to unite around a clear approach. At home, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Downing Street have themselves appeared divided. The ineffectiveness of the international community will, of itself, be destructive of hope in the Middle East. As a woman bombed out of her home said: "The world has no conscience."

There are already lessons to draw from this desperate situation. One is that it is insufficient to pass UN resolutions and then neglect their implementation. Lebanon needed help to fulfil the conditions of Resolution 1559, but only the outbreak of war has brought this to the top of the world's priorities. Another is that the Israeli-Palestinian "road map" to peace must not be abandoned.

The third lesson is for a far stronger engagement by Britain with the many moderate and peaceful countries of the Middle East, particularly in the Gulf and North Africa. Although it is pleasing to hear the Prime Minister this week calling for such a rethink, ministerial visits to such countries have been low-level, and the opportunities to build stronger parliamentary, military, educational and economic ties as part of a concerted strategy have generally been neglected. As a result, when a crisis comes, we find our influence is less than it used to be, and a good deal less than it ought to be. In the future, it should be the duty of the Foreign Secretary to lead and personify such a strategy.

A long-term strategy needs to start now with constructive action for today's crisis. It is our duty as a permanent member of the Security Council to try to formulate a viable plan. That means working closely with both the United States, with its great influence over Israel, and France, a likely big contributor to an international security force. Of course, the US is our foremost ally, but Britain can play a vital role in creating common ground between America and other allied nations.

If the conditions for an immediate ceasefire are not available, it is urgent that a framework is established that will provide for the gradual introduction of a lasting peace. Starting with an agreed cessation of hostilities by both sides, steps taken by one side would be reciprocated by the other, in a confidence-building process overseen by the Security Council.

These steps would lead to a comprehensive ceasefire, sustained by a political settlement, including prisoner exchange, implementation of Resolution 1559 and deployment of an international force to ensure that no attack on Israel takes place from southern Lebanon, and that Lebanon is never again subjected to such violence. This process would also help the international community, which finds itself at loggerheads over the sequence by which a ceasefire should be reached, and polarised over the apportioning of blame for the current stalemate.

It is possible that Hezbollah, a terrorist organisation, would not be party to such a process. But it has to be right to try it. The alternative, for the situation to drift on for weeks, will bring continuing agony for the people of Lebanon and northern Israel. Most ominously, it will illustrate that, faced with a Middle East growing steadily more volatile, the world lacks the will or unity to maintain peace.

Speech by William Hague during the debate in the House of Commons on International Affairs on Thursday, 20th July 2006

Click here publications