DUBLIN, August 3 (RIA Novosti), Mark Hirst – An agreement between Turkey and the US would be the key to bring about a lasting peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians, a global expert in conflict resolution told RIA Novosti on Sunday.
“I think we have two ideal candidates in the Middle East for what I would call guarantors … I think Israel could use America as its guarantor and I think the Palestinians could use Turkey,” White added.
“But before that can happen the US and Turkey have got to get together. If the US was serious they would be talking to Turkey now about how to broker a peace deal,” White told RIA Novosti.
White told RIA Novosti that despite the high level talks he has had with the Israeli Government, including meetings with former Israeli President Shimon Peres, he felt “betrayed” and deceived by Israeli officials.
“I am finding the Israeli state very deceitful. I have tried to build relationships with senior Israeli’s, but it has reached an intolerable stage now. I realize I have been betrayed by the participants,” White said.
“I am in contact with a number of Israeli citizens who are protesting tonight and every night to try and stop their country’s aggression. It is important to differentiate between the state and the people,” White told RIA Novosti.
“The fascinating thing for me over the past 14 years is having been in a variety of peace building initiatives, knowing the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland and his wife really well, I am now in the position where I am calling for their expulsion. After 14 years I realized what they have been doing,” White said.
“Israel engages in peace building activity to make them look as if they are reasonable people, but at the same time the trajectory remains the same. The trajectory is to take over all of the Palestinian land,” White added.
White told RIA Novosti a lasting solution had to come from within the region itself but needed the backing of neighboring countries and crucially the US.
“What happened last week and the week before was appalling,” White said.
“We saw Tony Blair [Middle East Peace Envoy] and John Kerry [US Secretary of State] rush to Egypt to try and get an agreement hatched.
“The reason they were under pressure to do that was because Turkey and Qatar were moving to develop an agreement, or proposal for a peace process. So America and the Brits had to get in first,” White told RIA Novosti.
“I think we need to go back and look for solutions within the region. The question about the role of Arab countries getting involved is really important,” White added.
White told RIA Novosti it was vital to build interconnected relations between the participants but he is skeptical that America is fully committed to securing a peace deal.
“It is interesting that Iran has come out and decided to support Hamas, particularly when there is now a global divide happening to separate Sunni from Shia Muslims. So in a strange way you have got Shia Iran now, offering to support Sunni Hamas in Gaza. All these things have regional dimensions to them and regional repercussions,” White said.
“Some of those relations, like the Turkey/Gaza relationship, could really be exploited if people really wanted to do it,” White added.
“But I think the reality is that America isn’t too pushed about it. In fact supplying the weaponry they did last week to Israel so they can fight this war is evidence that they don’t have any concerns about the situation at all,” White told RIA Novosti.
White’s comments came as Israel continued its military offensive in Gaza which has claimed over 1700 Palestinian lives, most of those civilians and injured a further 9000. 67 Israeli’s have died in the conflict.
Earlier today the UN reported that 10 people had been killed after an Israeli airstrike hit a UN-run school in Rafah.
