MIDDLE EAST:MINISTER FOR Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin yesterday raised concerns about the impact of Israel's separation barrier on Palestinian economic and social development in the West Bank during a meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Livni.
Mr Martin, whose first visit to the region as Minister for Foreign Affairs coincides with the fourth anniversary of an International Court of Justice ruling declaring the barrier illegal, viewed sections of it during a visit to Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem.
Officials from the UN relief agency UNRWA explained how the more than 600km-long barrier, which constitutes a concrete wall in some parts, a fence in others, affected Palestinians and impeded humanitarian work.
"Clearly the wall is having a choking impact on the economic and social life of this area," Mr Martin said during his visit to the town. "From our experience of conflict on the island of Ireland, we've long come to the view that building and sustaining communities is the best way to guarantee the security of all concerned . . . measures that ultimately have as their consequence the undermining of economic sustainability and quality of life in a particular area ultimately undermine the prospect of good security."
Later, at a meeting with the Israeli foreign minister in Tel Aviv, Mr Martin reiterated his concerns. "It seems to me there is a fundamental issue there between the imperative of security - which we recognise of course, it's very important - and the need to build sustainable confidence measures amongst the Palestinian community in terms of their faith in the [peace] process," he said later.
Ms Livni defended the barrier, arguing that it had saved lives. "Unfortunately, until we can live in peace in the way you do in Europe, we need some fences to separate Israeli civilians from the terrorists on the other side," she told The Irish Times. "The fence is not the future border and it is something we can change according to the future border, but there is a need to understand that even though there are places in which it makes some difficulties for those who live there, at the end of the day it saves lives."
The issue also arose during Mr Martin's talks with Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah.
"Here we are four years later . . . with the lives of the Palestinians continuing to be infringed upon, including their human rights," Mr Fayyad said after the meeting. "This situation definitely calls for a firm stand on the part of the international community."
Mr Martin discussed with the Palestinian premier moves to restore momentum in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process after the recent Egyptian-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and efforts to establish reconciliation talks between rivals Fatah and Hamas.