BRITAIN/THE MIDDLE EAST: The British Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, said yesterday the Middle East was on "the edge of catastrophe" and he warned Israel it was losing support within the international community.
Mr Straw said there was no evidence that Israel's policy of moving into the occupied territories was delivering "the peace with security we want" and he urged both sides in the conflict to pull back from violence.
Speaking during an interview with BBC R4, Mr Straw also said he had told Israel's Foreign Minister, Mr Shimon Peres, that his pledge to pull troops out of the occupied territories within weeks was not acceptable.
The House of Commons will debate the crisis in the Middle East next week.
But in another reminder of mounting Labour backbench concern that British could become involved in military action against Iraq, a Labour MP, Mr Tony McWalter, yesterday urged Mr Straw to "disavow" President George Bush's "axis of evil" speech.
If Britain did not distance itself from the speech and became involved in military action in the region, he said, such action would be viewed as the first stage in "axis of evil activity".
This would eventually extend into Iran, North Korea or any other country on a US military hit-list, he said.