Adams calls for timetabled Middle East talks

DIVISIONS in the Middle East can be overcome if Israelis and Palestinians take steps to build their own peace process, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said yesterday.

The republican leader published a report on the findings of talks he held in the troubled region.

Adams called for time-tabled negotiations, with open dialogue between the rival sides, to secure a peace deal.

The Israeli government refused to meet Adams when he visited the Middle East in April because he also planned to meet Hamas representatives.

But yesterday at the launch of his report in Stormont’s Parliament Buildings, Adams said he found a desire for peace among ordinary citizens from both sides of the Middle East conflict.

He said: “The depth of the conflict and of the divisions in the Middle East, the scale of the devastation in Gaza, the impact of the separation wall and of the Israeli occupation, and the settlements in the West Bank, along with the trauma caused to the residents of Sderot and other Israeli towns by rocket attacks, are all evidence of the enormity of the problems facing those who live in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

“It is obvious that the political conditions for ongoing violence and poverty and instability still dominate the situation.

“These must be tackled effectively if a peace settlement is to have any potential for success.”

The Sinn Féin leader argued that despite the differences between the conflicts in the North and the Middle East, broad principles used to tackle the Troubles could help in the latter.

“Peacemaking is conducted by and between enemies, not between friends,” he said.

“That means that a necessary element of a conflict resolution process in the Middle East which hopes to achieve a successful outcome must be an acceptance of inclusive dialogue based on equality and respect.

“This required a serious, good-faith effort to engage between political opponents.

“And this will require determination and commitment to stick with it through all of the inevitable arguments and differences and crises that will emerge.

“For Palestinians, this means uniting in the national interest by agreeing a truly national political platform involving all of the Palestinian parties,” he said.

“Fail to do this and the age-old tactic of divide and rule will weaken the Palestinian ability to achieve their rights through negotiation.”