UK foreign office expresses concern over possible Israeli application of sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.
By Elad Benari, INN Canada, 31/01/20 21:49
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab>
Britain on Friday cautioned Israel against applying sovereignty over Judea and Samara in line with a new Middle East initiative outlined by US President Donald Trump.
The UK foreign office said in a statement quoted by AFP that London was “concerned by reports of possible moves toward annexation of parts of the West Bank by Israel”.
“Any such unilateral moves would be damaging to renewed efforts to re-start peace negotiations, and contrary to international law,” it added.
“Any changes to the status quo cannot be taken forward without an agreement negotiated by the parties themselves.”
Britain has been extremely cautious in response to the so-called “Deal of the Century” peace plan announced by Trump this week.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, commented on the Trump peace plan on Tuesday, saying, “This is clearly a serious proposal, reflecting extensive time and effort.”
“A peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians that leads to peaceful coexistence could unlock the potential of the entire region, and provide both sides with the opportunity for a brighter future,” he added.
UK Foreign Office minister Andrew Morrison said Thursday that “we owe America and its president at least the time to consider this plan”.
He also stressed, however, that “this is not our plan” and that Britain was not fully backing it.
“Of course we welcome this plan,” Morrison told parliament, according to AFP. “This doesn’t mean we endorse its contents.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week urged Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn not to be negative about the plan.
“I would urge him rather than being so characteristically negative to reach out to his friend, my friend, our friends in the Palestinian Authority, to Mahmoud Abbas – for whom I have the highest respect – and urge him for once to engage, to get talking rather than to leave a political vacuum,” said Johnson after Corbyn called on Johnson to stand up to the US and tell Trump “frankly and candidly that on this you are wrong.”
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
Though, actually, to be fair, he’s also succeeded in confusing the national camp. If it came to a vote in the Knesset, who in the national camp, could endorse a Palestinian State in Judea and Samaria, even in principle, even in name only.
““Of course we welcome this plan,” Morrison told parliament, according to AFP. “This doesn’t mean we endorse its contents.” So, Britain is actually sitting on the fence, at the moment, it would appear. It would seem that Trump has succeeded in confusing the opposition, from the Brits, to Blue and White, to the Muslim and Arab camps.
@ DR DAVID BARRETT:
the British FO has always been in the Arab camp Abarse deserves nothing spend the money on moving the invading Arabs back home
GB should mind its own business. It’s no longer longer the colonial power, it’s a rump of what it once was and the cause of the problem. No reason to believe they can contribute to the solution, they are part of the problem.
They fomented the euphemistically called “troubles” in Ireland. Scotland is again clamoring to break the Union.
EU, GB and others are fearful of some in the 3d world to break from dependance on them for manufactured goods. The old economic model of West supplies goods, 3d world supplies raw goods is on the verge of coming to an end leaving GB a dead stump. But only if the 3d world can resolve its conflicts. WHICH is what GB does not want. They want to designate the winners and loosers in conflicts, so they claim, but work against the natural order of economic strength. An alliance of Israel, Turkey and Iran combined with Pal, Egyptian, and jordan’s labor is a win and could conquor Africa’s markets w/o EU, GB or Am or China. Middle Asia is another future market Russia wants.
Oy, the UK just gave new meaning to define “chutzpah.”
With its history in the world, in particular with the Jewish people, how can the UK caution Israel over annexing its own land? Does the UK conveniently forget how it manipulated its position in charge of the Palestine Mandate to quickly move in 1922 to reward its Hashemite pals for their service in WWI against the Ottoman Empire (Note-Turkey’s defeat opened up the Middle East for British/French colonialism.) The problem of no concern to the British was to carve out 80% of Israel proper to install the kingdom of Trans-Jordan. After 100 years, Israel is just taking its own land back, just as it did in 1967 when Jerusalem was re-united.
Instead of offering any tainted advice to Israel, the UK would be better to acknowledge its previous actions so hurtful to the Jewish people in modern history, including:
-Promoting its White Paper in the 1930s as an excuse to close the Palestine Mandate to desperate European Jews seeking immigration;
-Even after WWII to dispatch the Royal Navy to blockade Palestine to prevent Jewish immigration, including to ram and attack the helpless ships;
-To allow the British officered, trained, and equipped Arab Legion to attack and seize Jerusalem; to pillage, defile and desecrate the Jewish Quarter and sacred Jewish religious sites; to allow Jerusalem to be divided until 1967.
-To forget how Israel accomplished its mission at Suez; how it was the hesitations of PM Eden who forfeited all that Israel had gained for the UK. The British failure at Suez turned Nasser into an Arab nationalist hero, and opened up the Middle East to Soviet incursions.
It behooves PM Johnson not to resurrect the dastardly ghost of the fervently Jew-hating labor minister Bevin who mislead PM Attlee, King George, and Queen Elizabeth. PM Johnson should cast aside Bevin and not embrace Abbas to delay the inevitable–putting Israel back together after 100 years.
The UK gives new meaning to “chutzpah!”
How dare the UK suggest Israel going easy on annexing Judea and Samaria, when they were both always a part of Israel (just like Jerusalem was its capitol). This only changed in 1922 when England rewarded its Hashemite pals from WWI with their own land, Trans-Jordan, created by the British transferring 80% of Israel to Trans-Jordan as the master of the Palestine Mandate.
This “advice” is all the more pathetic given the UK’s vulnerabilities over Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Like the tea kettle calling the pot black, but in this case, Israel is only annexing its own land. Instead, the UK would be wise to admit its blemished record towards the Jews given its own action, beyond shuffling the land of Israel:
-The White Paper of the 1930s that shut-down Palestine Mandate for immigration from Europe of desperate people trying to escape;
-Using its Royal Navy to continue to blockade of Palestine after WWII, to the extent of ramming boatloads of Jewish refugees;
-The poisonous hostility of Labor Minister Bevin who shaped the harsh opinions of PM Attlee, King George, and Queen Elizabeth.
-The British trained, officered and equipped Arab Legion that attacked and seized Jerusalem; pillaged and desecrated the Jewish Quarter between 1948-1967. Why did the British tolerate the division of Jerusalem for its first time in history?
-Forgetting how Israel accomplished its mission for the UK at Suez; it was PM Eden who was so undecided he caused the mission to fail.
PM Johnson today should not be deceived by the Jew-hating socialists in the U.S. Congress to convince him to embrace the ghost of Bevin and praise Abbas, the PLO mercenary who planned and carried out the brutal attack on the civilian ship, MS Achille Lauro, that murdered a U.S. citizen.
But perhaps PM Johnson can advise Israel how the British military, “Black & Tans,” handled the insurrection in Northern Ireland for so many decades?
British hypocrisy apparently knows no bounds. A century ago the British who unilaterally and without legal right cut off almost 80% of Mandatory Palestine after being granted the mandate in order to establish a Jewish homeland in all of Palestine in order to create the fictitious state of “Transjordan“ in order to curry favor with the Arab world, aka “reward the Hashemites for assisting the British in defeating the Ottoman Turks, complete and utter nonsense best illustrated by the historically inaccurate Lawrence of Arabia.
@ yamit82: Trump should hold back on the bilateral trade agreement for a little while and suggest that it would be helpful if Boris supports the deal.
Boris Johnson says he has the highest respect for Mahmoud Abbas. Is that when he is standing on a ladder on after inhaling?
The perfidy of Britain in aiding and enabling the Nazis in the murder of European Jewry and those Jews living under the British Mandate in Palestine is second only to the Nazis and their willing helpers.
The British Policy today is still in line with the Policies of the then FM (Jew Hating) Bevin. Some things never change.
How can one give ANY respect to Abbas , THE Holocaust DENIER , whom Prince Charles visited AFTER attending the Holocaust initiative in Israel a week ago?? Did he go under FO orders?