Middle East at moment of 'great peril', British minister warns

Lebanese ambassador also states that Israel is on 'path to war' at event hosted by The National at the Labour Party conference

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese city of Baalbeck in the Bekaa Valley. AFP

The Middle East is at a “moment of great peril” with the risk of regional war becoming “contagious”, a British government minister has told a Labour Party conference event hosted by The National.

Hamish Falconer, the Middle East Minister, has called for a rapid diplomatic solution to stop the conflict from spreading region-wide after a day in which almost 500 Lebanese were killed in Israeli air strikes.

At another event hosted by The National, Prince Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the UK, said that the UK and other western countries needed to be wary of the “public perception” that they only get involved in regional conflicts “when it suits them”.

Great peril

Israel has mounted a series of attacks on Lebanon in the last week, including exploding pagers that killed 10 and wounded nearly 3,000 mostly Hezbollah fighters, but were at risk of causing a region-wide conflict, said the minister.

“This is a moment of great peril in the region,” said Mr Falconer. “There is a risk of contagion of violence elsewhere than where we see it now.”

Lebanese ambassador Rami Mortada, right, with Britain's Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer at the event hosted by The National. Victoria Pertusa / The National

He stated that the British government was calling for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon. In reference to the demarcation border dividing Israel and Lebanon, he added that “the aim must be for civilians on both sides of the Blue Line to return to their homes”.

The UK was “ready to play its part” in a diplomatic solution, he told the event, which was titled The Future of the Middle East: The UK’s Role in a Changing Region.

“We will continue to try and play as helpful a role as we can … further escalation would cause issues that are felt not just on the immediate doorstep of the region, but globally,” he added.

Carpet bombing

Mr Falconer was sitting next to the Lebanese ambassador Rami Mortada, who made an emotionally charged speech stating that his country had been “subjected to carpet bombing” with women and children killed in Monday’s Israeli air strikes.

“The Israeli government is on a continual path to war,” he said, adding that its aim was to “sabotage” the ceasefire negotiations over Gaza”.

Israel's Iron Dome air defence system intercepts rockets launched from Lebanon. AP

Mr Mortada also argued that a diplomatic solution was needed before it became a “contagious conflict”, at the packed fringe event with more than 100 attendees including MPs, diplomats and people from across the Middle East including Israel.

In thrall of extremists

The former UK ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Iraq, Sir William Patey, who is chairman of the Labour Middle East Council, which co-hosted the event, also warned that the “future is very bleak unless something changes radically”.

“The only way that the Middle East has a future is if there’s a ceasefire,” he said, suggesting that the current Israeli assaults were designed to create a response that would justify a full-scale invasion of Lebanon.

“The Israeli government is in the thrall of religious extremists,” he added, suggesting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was taking Israel “over a cliff” that would ultimately result in an existential threat to the country.

Beware public perception

Speaking at another fringe event, called Britain and the Gulf Powerhouses, Prince Khalid warned the West against ignoring events in the region.

“Time and time again, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, then Sudan, was on everyone’s TVs while Westerners were there who needed help but once they got out it’s no longer there,” he said.

Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UK Prince Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud. SPA

He said that as someone involved in the issues, he knew the British government was trying to help resolve them, but that the “public perception was they only get involved when it suits them”. His advice to the new Labour government was to “be wary of how what you do is perceived”.

“Even in monarchies we must listen to the public perception, and I think that’s particularly crucial with what’s happening in Palestine and how that might get worse,” he added.