Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I welcome the Minister to the House and commend Senator Norris for his even-handed motion. Even-handedness is the theme I wish to discuss in this debate. If the EU is to have a role in the Middle East, it should not be a partisan one favouring one side over the other but one of an honest broker. It is, in theory at least, open to the EU to fill a gap that has been created by the long-established pro-Israel policy of the United States. Most people in the Middle East are suspicious of the United States because, despite its protests to the contrary, it has for a long time pursued a policy that has leaned entirely to the Israeli side. Some in Europe say that because the Americans are on the side of Israel, Europeans should be on the side of the Palestinians to balance this. I am certain Members will disagree with the thinking behind that view. What is needed is not a balance between those lining up on each side but an approach that will make progress towards an eventual solution to this conflict, which has been ongoing throughout my lifetime.

In some respects the situation under discussion is similar to one much closer to home, that of Northern Ireland. The similarity is that in both cases it is clear to any unbiased observer that the only possible end is for both sides to find a way of living together in some kind of peace. Victory for either side on its own terms is out of the question. However, it is difficult to see that point clearly when one is in the thick of these disputes and that is where the role of an outsider can be very valuable, and where the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, and the EU could come in.

If an outsider can avoid getting embroiled in the day-to-day disputes and concentrate his efforts on trying to get the parties to take a long view, that outsider will have performed a very useful function. If, during the period of the Irish EU Presidency, the Minister could succeed in getting the EU's bona fides as an honest broker established on both sides, it would be a major achievement and a solid foundation for making further progress that could continue into the future.

Achieving this is more difficult than it sounds, as we know from our experience of the many efforts made in regard to Northern Ireland. The truth is that for many Israelis the EU is not perceived as impartial in this matter. Some view the EU as being firmly in the Palestinian camp and it will not be easy to change that perception. However, it is necessary to do so if we are ever to adopt an honest broker role.

I have only visited Israel on one occasion and it was a joy to do so and to participate at a time when tensions were not quite so high. However, I found that what is said outside Israel, particularly at the United Nations, arouses concern, worry and terror among people on both sides of that wall. One of the difficulties in dealing with entrenched positions is that those involved are always likely to adopt a black and white attitude to others outside the conflict. They tend to use the phrase made notorious by President Bush — "Either you are with us or against us."

Impartiality is too often seen by the contenders in any conflict as invariably coming down against their side of the argument. We hear this all the time. When anything is said, people believe the worst. They tend not to listen and not to be open to listening to someone who says there is wrong on both sides. We can try to avoid this dead end by lifting our eyes to the long term and trying to encourage both sides to the conflict to do the same. Instead of reacting to the latest atrocity — it seems that atrocities occur almost every day — we should focus on the long-term goals and visions in which both sides accept they must live peacefully together and must find a way to do that.

As in any conflict, there will always be those who refuse to accept such a goal, those who cannot see beyond the world of conflict and whose only vision of the future is that one side will be victorious and the other vanquished. In Israel and Palestine, however, the majority of people still wish for a reasonable end to this conflict. If, with the Minister for Foreign Affairs in a strong position in the coming months, the EU could play some role in making that happen for those people, we will have done lasting good for the world as a whole, not just for those in that part of the world. I encourage the Minister to take the steps outlined during the debate on Senator Norris's motion, which he has shown himself willing to take.