World Jewish News

British PM David Cameron reiterates Britain’s support for a two-state solution

British Prime Minister David Cameron told re-elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he was looking forward to working with the future new Israeli government.
According to a Downing Street spokesperson, he also reiterated Britain’s support for a two-state solution and the belief that this represents “the best way to achieve a lasting peace and to secure Israel’s long-term security and prosperity.”
This follows the concern expressed in Washington at remarks made by Netanyahu during the election campaign which indicated his rejection of a Palestinian state being established while he was Prime Minister.
Netanyahu has since sought to clarify those comments significantly, telling American media outlets that he was simply concerned that, with the chaos of today’s Middle East, a Palestinian state could easily become a terror-state on Israel’s doorstep.
He said in one interview: “I don’t want a one-state solution. I want a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution. But for that, circumstances have to change.”
Cameron told the British parliament that London would pressure both Israel and the Palestinian Authority to resume negotiations.
“I think that’s in the long term interest not just to the Palestinians, but also to the Israelis, and Britain’s policy on that will not change,” Cameron told MPs.
When Labor MP and former Foreign Minister Jack Straw challenged Cameron regarding Israeli settlement activity, the premier replied: "If there isn’t a two-state solution you end up moving towards a one-state solution which I think will be disastrous for the Jewish people in Israel."
“So I really do believe in the two-state solution and we’re very much opposed to the settlement building that there has been and been very clear about that and will continue to be clear about that. It makes a two-state solution more difficult and that in turn will make Israel less stable rather than more stable.”
Cameron's Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, for his part, declared : “I actually share President Obama’s views much more than David Cameron’s,” Clegg told a British radio station. “It is extremely worrying – it cannot be more alarming – to have seen Benjamin Netanyahu do something which no leading Israeli politician has ever done – to rule out the prospect of a two-state solution.”
Clegg said that if the new Netanyahu-led government continued to expand settlements in the West Bank, “the world, including the British parliament, would have no option, inevitably, but to recognize a Palestinian state."

EJP