UK-Israel bilateral relations soar after Israeli settlement plans
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LONDON, UK: The British government on Thursday said peace between Israel and the Palestinians cannot be brokered by focusing solely on settlement construction, following a stern warning over the practice by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesperson said Britain supports a two-state solution and believes the construction of settlements on Palestinian lands.
“But we are also clear that the settlements are far from the only problem in this conflict.
“In particular, the people of Israel deserve to live free from the threat of terrorism, with which they have had to cope for too long,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The comments from Downing Street come a day after Kerry issued a stern warning to Israel in which he said building settlements threatens the country’s future as a democracy.
Kerry accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of allowing Israel to slide towards a “perpetual occupation.”
Without referring to the secretary of state’s comments, the British government’s comments appeared to criticise Kerry’s speech.
