Short warns US over Middle East

The United States must do more to kick-start the Middle East peace process, International Development Secretary Clare Short has said.

She told the BBC's Newshour programme there was no excuse for the 11 September terrorist attacks, but warned the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict - in which the Israelis have traditionally been able to rely on strong US support - served to increase resentment against America in the region.

That hurts the hearts of people

Clare Short on the Mid East conflict

The interview went out as the latest twist in the Middle East conflict saw Israel decide to stop Yasser Arafat from attending a symbolic Christmas Eve Mass in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, to Palestinian fury.

In a separate development, three people have been killed in a skirmish along the normally peaceful border between Israel and Jordan.

An Israeli patrol was ambushed by unidentified Arab gunmen on Tuesday morning, leaving one soldier dead and four wounded.

Israeli troops gave chase and shot two men dead on the Israeli side of the border, the army said.

'Very foolish'

Ms Short also spoke out against the "very foolish" attitude of hawks in Washington who were opposed to nation building in failed states, such as Afghanistan.

If it prevailed, she suggested, then "the rest of us have got to do the job".

Ms Short, in a pre-recorded interview for the BBC World Service Newshour programme broadcast on Tuesday, also criticised the UK Government for giving Tanzania the go-ahead to buy a £28m air traffic control system from a British manufacturer.

But she also stressed that the government had become increasingly conscious of its moral duty to put concern for the world's poor above commercial interests.

On the Middle East, Ms Short urged President George W Bush's administration to put more effort into finding a settlement between Israel and Palestinians.

'Wicked and evil'

On the 11 September attacks, Ms Short stressed: "There is no explanation that legitimises what was done... it is always wrong to deliberately kill civilians."

George Bush: Urged to do more in Middle East

"It was wrong, it was wicked, it was evil."

America had to realise a "major cause" of the criticism it attracted around the world was the unresolved Middle East conflict.

Ms Short said: "That hurts the hearts of people. If the US tried harder, we could do better."

The international development secretary went on to the issue of 'failed states' such as Afghanistan, where she said collapsed governing institutions allowed the al-Qaeda network of prime terrorist suspect Osama Bin Laden to flourish.

Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo were notable among the world's other failed states, she warned.

Yet there were those on the "extreme right" in America who were uninterested in helping such countries, Ms Short said.

"That is not a very caring attitude; I think it is also a very foolish attitude."

Government criticism

Turning to the domestic arena, Ms Short said that the British government had successfully balanced the needs of the world's poorest people with business considerations.

But she acknowledged there were always battles to be engaged in within government.

"There are always battles in politics, that's how conflicts are resolved," she said.

Ms Short said the purchase of the British-built air traffic control system by Tanzania was a waste of money for a poor and indebted country, although the Tanzanian President, Benjamin Mkapa, has said his country needed it to ensure air safety.

System cost questioned

An export licence to allow BAe Systems to sell the system to the Tanzanian Government was granted on Thursday after a heated cabinet meeting, which reportedly left ministers split on the issue.

The government was immediately condemned by Oxfam and backbench MPs, while defence experts questioned the cost of the system.

The deal is opposed by a number of ministers, including Chancellor Gordon Brown, and several charities.

Those in favour, including Tony Blair and Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt, say it will secure 250 of the 900 BAe Systems jobs in the Isle of Wright.