You recently introduced “The Fading Valley” at the Human Rights Film Festival, could you tell us a bit about the film?
The film relates to a dispute that’s been going on for decades in the Jordan Valley and the occupied Palestinian territory. The film is largely about the issues relating to water supplies, and tensions between people living in Israeli settlements and the Palestinian people.
Could you try and sum up the situation for the inhabitants of the West Bank at the minute? For instance outlining how everyday life can be for Palestinians living there.
Difficult would be the word I would use, and that’s shown in investigations by the UN, human rights organisations such as B’tselem and others, particularly about the access to water supplies and the changes that have taken place since 1967.
What do you think is the ultimate goal of Israeli policy in the occupied territories?
It’s difficult to tell, and it depends on which government is in place at the time. With the current administration, then continuing the occupation is the policy under Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Palestine recently joined the International Criminal Court (ICC). Do you think this move to join the ICC will make a difference with regards to the creation of a Palestinian State?
Partly. This is a bit of a tough subject because the Palestinian Authority has been seeking full membership of the UN – and this comes down to statehood, and what it takes to form a sovereign state. Palestine does sit in some international organisations but not in the UN as a full member – instead as a non-member observer state. When it comes to the International Criminal Court taking action, investigations have to be carried out and the UN Security Council has the power to step in and defer investigations or prosecutions . In the case of Israel, the United States could veto any plans to carry out an investigation.
The Israeli reaction to Palestine joining the ICC was to withhold the tax money that they collect on behalf of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, which triggered a small scale humanitarian crisis, could you comment on that?
You need to think of this from the perspective of both Israel and the Palestinian National Authority. The Israeli government argues that unilateral acts are not helpful in a situation such as this. I would agree with that, and unilateral acts include acts such as building settlements – exacerbating the situation in the West Bank – so unilateral acts work in both ways. Recently the Prime Minister of Israel has said there should be negotiations without preconditions, but they have reached such an impasse now that it makes things extremely difficult given the animosity that has built up.
I would like to briefly touch on Gaza: recent reports paint a grim picture of life for its inhabitants. Could you comment on the situation of the people in Gaza from a human rights perspective?
Well relating to the subject of The Fading Valley, in Gaza most of the water is undrinkable, according to one UN body 95% of it in fact. Part of the requirements of the International Covenant on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights relates to the issue of water quality and in this sense the situation is even more grim. This is also serious considering the age of the population in Gaza, over 45% being children, the impact of this situation will be felt hardest by them.
What role does Britain play in the current situation in Israel/Palestine? For example, Britain’s arms sales to Israel which total around £87 million from 2008 to the present.
The UK’s position in the arms trade is as a major international force. More generally, the UK’s relationship with Saudi Arabia as well is well established, we only need to look back a few years at the Al-Yamamah arms deal (the biggest arms deal in history) between the UK and Saudi Arabia, and the case that was brought to the Serious Fraud Office as a result and how little came out of it, to show how the United Kingdom operates when it comes to selling weapons of war around the world. This has always interested me if you look back to the 1990s and the days of the claimed ‘ethical foreign policy’, whilst at the same time facilitating deals such as that.
More broadly, do you see Britain as a force for good in terms of promoting human rights, or not?
It’s a double edged sword, it really depends. I lecture about legal action involving the Chagos Islands, a chain of Islands where Britain expelled the native population in the 1960s and 1970s, to use the territory as a military base. Britain still denies the population the right to return there, that position is shocking, and is a black stain on the United Kingdom. The UK has also done a great deal of good in the past for human rights, such as the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Nations which both owe a great deal to the UK for bringing them through. Like I said, it’s a double edged sword.
Featured photo credit: Emma MacLachlan
