Israel must do more for peace process, urges UK envoy

Haroon Siddique, Guardian, 24/08/07. The man appointed by Gordon Brown to be the UK's Middle East envoy has warned that Israel must do more to improve the lives of the Palestinian people, or else attempts to revive the peace process could fail. "There have been some moves - the release of 200 prisoners, the tax revenues once more flowing to the

Mahmoud Abbas needs new assurances from Israel, according to Michael Williams.

Photograph: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty images

Palestinian authority - but this is nowhere near enough," said Mr Williams. "On key issues like the outposts, let alone the settlements in the West Bank, and on the hundreds of checkpoints we've not seen significant or even any real moves by the Israelis so far."

Michael Williams, who is currently the UN secretary general's special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, spoke out ahead of taking up his new role next month.

A conference aimed at getting the peace process back on track is scheduled to take place in the US in November.

But Mr Williams suggested that the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, would have to be given assurances of positive Israeli intentions before he would attend.

"For President Abbas to go to the States for this meeting, he will need some clear demonstrations of Israeli support for a continuing peace process," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Mr Williams, who recently met with the Palestinian administration, said more could have been done "to sustain the momentum behind President Abbas".

"There have been some moves - the release of 200 prisoners, the tax revenues once more flowing to the Palestinian authority - but this is nowhere near enough," said Mr Williams.

"On key issues like the outposts, let alone the settlements in the West Bank, and on the hundreds of checkpoints we've not seen significant or even any real moves by the Israelis so far."

Mr Williams also said the UK government would continue relations with the Iranian and Syrian administrations, despite the US president George Bush's policy of limited communication with them amid allegations they have been interfering in the Iraq conflict.

"I think it's the view of the prime minister and the foreign secretary that the US has to engage with countries like Iran and Syria," he said.

He stressed the importance of resolving the "problems" and "threats" in the Middle East and said it was imperative that the British government had an "active foreign policy" in the region.

He said: "No region poses such a substantial threat to international peace and security greater than the Middle East, there's no doubt about that."

Brown to appoint his own Middle East envoy

Ian Black, middle East editor. Guardian. 28/07/07. Gordon Brown is to appoint his own Middle East envoy, opening up the possibility of a clash with the work of Tony Blair, who is now representing the international "Quartet" - the US, EU, UN and Russia. Michael Williams, currently a special coordinator for the regional peace process for the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, is expected to be confirmed in the job next week, the Guardian has learned. Mr Williams, 58, a former BBC journalist, worked for the UN in Cambodia and the Balkans, and as an adviser to Robin Cook and Jack Straw in the Foreign Office. Details of the appointment are still being finalised, but his move to Downing Street suggests that the prime minister is keen to develop his own policy for the Middle East, despite his predecessor's new high-profile role for the Quartet. Mr Brown told Mr Ban in London earlier this month that he wanted Mr Williams to fill the post formerly occupied by Lord Levy. The Palestinians and other Arabs will be pleased with the news and hoping that the prime minister will develop a distinct approach that is less influenced by both Washington and Jerusalem. Lord Levy, a leading figure in the UK Jewish community and a Labour party donor, was widely seen as being too close to Israel's view of the conflict. A key issue is whether to engage with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, currently being shunned on the grounds that it has not formally renounced violence, recognised Israel or accepted previous peace agreements.

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