PM to visit Israel, Palestine next March

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi will be going on official visits to Israel and the Palestinian Authority next March, Foreign Minister Tonio Borg disclosed to the Parliamentary Committee on European and Foreign Affairs yesterday. The visits will follow Dr Borg’s recent three-day visit to the region.

Speaking about the developing situation in North Africa, Dr Borg said that no matter what other governments held, Malta must and wants to keep the best possible relations with Libya, Tunisia and Egypt.

He had personally fielded several calls on Friday about the supposed presence of ousted Tunisian President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali in Malta. But Ben Ali had not come to Malta, was never on his way here and no request had been made for him to land here.

There were some 120 to 140 Maltese in Tunisia, mostly residents, workers and a few tourists. With the airport still open, he hoped all those who wanted to return would be home by Wednesday. Malta’s ambassador to Tunis, Vicky-Ann Cremona, was undertaking a lot of good work and if the situation so warranted, the government would not fail to evacuate all the Maltese.

The situation in Tunisia, which had been completely unpredictable, was still fluid, but he hoped that stability and calm would return, although it would take time.

Agreeing with Minister Borg about the unpredictability, although there had been long-standing rumours on the lifestyle of the Ben Ali family, opposition foreign affairs spokesman George Vella said he hoped there would be no domino effect on North African countries.

The closest and most extreme danger was Algeria, although Egypt was on the verge of exploding and the Muslim Brotherhood was poised to make the most of the situation. He was most surprised at developments in Jordan, a Westernised and well-educated population at the centre of the Middle East. Any disquiet there could spill over into Lebanon, Iraq and Iran.

Leo Brincat (PL) said any spill over from the Tunisia must continue to be followed closely. It had been said that recent WikiLeaks disclosures about the lifestyle of the Ben Ali family could have had a hand in bringing long-simmering matters to the boil.

Minister Borg also addressed the meeting about his participation in recent EU summits and his visits to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, particularly the traumatic experience of crossing into the Gaza Strip.

Dr Vella agreed, comparing the natural disaster that had befallen Haiti and the man-made disaster that was Gaza. He said his own visit to Gaza was on par to his most shocking experience in Auschwitz.

Even though being morally responsible for the situation in the Middle East following the post-war partition, the EU had failed the region badly, dishing out funds but doing very little else but talk. It had done nothing concrete about the Judaeisation of East Jerusalem and did not seem intent on trade restrictions against Israel.

The US, on the other hand, had lost all moral power, he said.

Mr Brincat said Israel was happy so long as the EU served as a cash cow but did nothing political. The Union was showing itself to be an economic giant but a political pygmy.

The government must push for more and wider economic cooperation with Israel.