Mark Garnier, Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman for Wyre Forest, has returned from a fact finding visit to Israel as part of a group of selected Conservative Parliamentary Candidates. The tour was organised by the Conservative Friends of Israel, one of three similar organisations established to help educate the principle three political parties on affairs in the Middle East.
During the four full days of extensive visits and meetings, the group visited many important strategic sites, including Israel's most northern border with Lebanon, the scene of vicious fighting between the Israeli Defence Force and Hezbollah during the summer; Palestinian controlled territories on the West Bank, including a detailed visit to the controversial security fence and border control centres; and Jerusalem, the spiritual centre for the world's three great religions - Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
In addition to visiting key sites, the group also had extensive meetings with key politicians, academics, active members of the IDF, lobby groups, and government officials, including the British Ambassador.
Commenting on his return, Mark Garnier said:
"This really was the most extraordinary tour. For as long as I can remember I have been hearing about Israel, either at school as part of religious studies or, far more depressingly, on the news as the continuing troubles make headlines.
"During our tour, we had a unique opportunity to see first hand what is going on in Israel and the Palestinian West Bank and to start to try to understand the dynamics of what is happening in the Middle East. And when you actually stand in Old Jerusalem - a city of just one square mile - and see the world's three main religion's most sacred sites crammed together, it becomes a little clearer why there is so much tension. The Jewish sites of King David's Tomb and the Wailing Wall, the Moslem El Aqsa Mosque, and the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre (where Christ was crucified) are within a few hundred yards of each other.
"The fact is, the problems in the Middle East have been going on for thousands of years and we are just another generation that has inherited these tensions. But one message that I have brought home is that we in the UK are to a certain extent responsible for the current situation and accordingly we must take responsibility. The British held the Mandate on Israel from 1921 until it relinquished that responsibility to the UN in 1947, but as part of the UN, and as a country with troops in the region, this is a situation that I believe all British politicians must understand.
"As someone who aspires to be a Member of Parliament, I am frequently reminded that my responsibilities will be enormous. At the Remembrance Service yesterday in Stourport, we were reminded that politicians are the ons who create wars and order troops into battle - often causing huge loss of life to civilians as well as serving members of the armed forces.
"I am certain that, should I achieve my aim to represent Wyre Forest in Parliament, I will be asked to vote on issues that derive from the problems in the Middle East - be they a call to arms; increasing security in the UK; introducing identity cards on our own population; or simply putting more aid into the region. The fact is, far too many Parliamentarians vote on these incredibly important issues based on what they have read in the newspaper. That is not good enough.
"Israel's and the Middle East's problems are so extensive that it seems to be widely acknowledged that there is no solution. The best we can do is to simply try to manage the situation in as best a way as possible. Have I come back from this trip knowing all the answers? No, but at least my questions will be better informed."