Israel has an “absolute right” to live in security and free from terrorism, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Wednesday in remarks before a meeting in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Johnson reaffirmed that Prime Minister Theresa May and the rest of the British government are “rock-like supporters of Israel.”
“What we want is to see is an Israel that is at peace with its neighbors,” the foreign minister said, reiterating his government’s support for a two-state solution. He added that Israel has “an absolute right to live in security, and the people of Israel deserve to be safe from terrorism. That’s our absolute priority.”
In addition to highlighting the diplomatic friendship between the UK and Israel, Johnson spoke of growing commercial ties between the two countries. He discussed a free trade agreement that the two nations began planning after Britain’s vote last year to leave the European Union.
(Johnson also sought to attract Israeli high-tech firms to his country when he visited Israel in November 2015 while serving as mayor of London. He said at the time that he “cannot think of anything more foolish” than to boycott Israel, “a country that when all is said and done is the only democracy in the region, the only place that has in my view a pluralist open society.”)
Johnson also joked with Netanyahu about his experience volunteering on a kibbutz in his youth, making a “not-very-substantial contribution to the Israeli economy back then.”
Netanyahu noted that he and Johnson agree “on most things but not on all things,” a reference to Johnson’s criticisms of Jewish communities in the West Bank. Netanyahu also stated that the main reason for a lack of peace between Israel and the Palestinians is “the persistent refusal to recognize a nation state for the Jewish people in any boundaries. If you want to solve a problem, go to the core of the problem.”
Johnson also held meetings with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki. Johnson told Malki that the election of U.S. President Donald Trump presented an “opportunity” for advancing the peace process.
“There is a willingness to look at things with fresh eyes, and what it will require is leadership on both sides — leadership and vision and courage,” the foreign secretary said.
In a separate meeting with Johnson, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin asked the foreign secretary to invite the British royal family to Israel later this year for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. On November 2, 1917, then-Foreign Secretary James Arthur Balfour signed a document declaring his government’s support for establishing “a national home for the Jewish people” in the land of Israel.
[Photo: IsraeliPM / YouTube ]