‘’I am here as a good friend and a strong supporter of Israel,’’ British Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday as was welcomed by his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
He said his belief in Israel is "unbreakable’’ and his commitment to Israel's security will always be ‘’rock solid."
Cameron, who is on a two-day visit to Israeland the Palestinian Authority also said in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, that Britain oppposes boycotts. ‘’Whether it's trade unions campaigning for the exclusion of Israelis or universities trying to stifle academic exchange, Israel's place as a homeland for the Jewish people will never rest on hollow resolutions passed by amateur politicians," he said.
He added: "Delegitimising the state of Israel is wrong. It's abhorrent. And together we will defeat it."
It is the Cameron’s first visit to Israel since his election as Prime Minister in 2010.
He also told Netanyahu that he is a strong supporter of the two-state solution as ''the right answer for your country and for the Palestinian’’, commending ‘’the efforts that you're making to that end.’’
‘’I am also here as someone who shares an analysis with you about the dangers and threats to our world: the danger and threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, which must be avoided; and the danger and threat from Islamist extremism, which must be combatted.’’
In his warm speech to the Knesset, during which he just briefly called for an end to settlement construction and Palestinian incitement, Cameron told the Israeli parliament that it did not need lectures from him on how to make peace.
"Imagine what this land would be like if a two-state solution was actually achieved. Think of all the aspects of life that would change. Israel’s relationships with the world. Its security, its long-term prosperity, and the quality of life for all its people,’’ he said.
"Think of the capitals in the Arab world where Israelis could travel, do business, and build a future. Imagine Israel – like any other democratic nation – finally treated fairly and normally by all."
He said Israel would have not "a temporary deal, broken by Hamas firing rockets at you or Iranian proxies smuggling weapons through the Jordan valley. But a proper, lasting peace that allows a strong, moderate Palestinian government to end the fears of a failed state on Israel's border. A deal that means an end of all claims – and an end of all conflict."
He nodded at Israel's demand that the Palestinians recognize it as the nation state of the Jewish people, saying, "Imagine, as John Kerry put it: 'Mutual recognition of the nation state of the Palestinian people and the nation state of the Jewish people'."
‘’What that would mean was an end to the outrageous lectures on human rights that Israel receives at the United Nations from the likes of Iran and North Korea. ‘’
‘’An end to the ridiculous situation where last year the United Nations General Assembly passed three times as many resolutions on Israel as on Syria, Iran and North Korea put together. No more excuses for the 32 countries in the United Nations who refuse to recognize Israel."
The British Prime Minister said that his government has stood firm against anti-Semiti, mentioning the fact that French anti-Semitic comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala was refused entry in the UK because ‘’his abhorrent displays of anti-Semitism have no place in a tolerant and inclusive Britain."
"I have led the fight against anti-Semitism and extremism in Britain. We have removed over 26,000 pieces of illegal terrorist content from the internet, worked with the police and with universities to stop extremists spreading their divisive messages on our university campuses and we have excluded more foreign preachers of hate on the basis of our strategy for preventing extremism than ever before."
In addition, he said, his government has also stood up to "protect Jewish practices" in Britain, adding that ‘’on my watch shechita (the Jewish ritual slaughter is safe in the UK.’’
On Thursday, Cameron is due to meet with Palestinian Authority President David Cameron in Ramallah.