British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said the UK and Israel ‘’must stand and work together’’, as he addressed an event organized by the Conservative Friends of Israel in Birmingham.

Johnson was joined by ministers including Business Secretary Greg Clark, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and Communities Secretary Sajid Javid.

He told the event about his experience of attending Shimon Peres’s funeral last week.

He said “the best days” lie ahead in the relationship between Britain and Israel, and quoted the former Israeli President, adding: “‘Count your dreams and your achievements. If your dreams are bigger than your achievements then you are young. If your achievements are bigger than your dreams then you are old’.

“I put it to you that Britain and Israel are both countries where our dreams are still bigger than their achievements. Our best days are ahead. We must stand and work together. Britain, Israel and Conservative Friends of Israel can build those dreams together,” Johnson declared.

Israel’ ambassador to the UK, Mark Regev, who also addressed the event, described the new British Prime Minister Theresa May as an “ally” of Israel and the Jewish community.

He also declared that ‘’Israel is ready to immediately restart peace talks without any preconditions whatsoever. It’s high time the Palestinians stopped their posturing and agreed to return to the negotiating table.’’

He added that there is only one Middle East country that shares values of liberty and the rule of law.

“In being friends of Israel you are not only standing up for British values, you are also standing up for Britain’s fundamental interests. When Britain and Israel cooperate in cyber IT, fintech, in spawning new start-up companies, we both benefit. When Britain and Israel work together in defence, intelligence and counter-terrorism we are all safer. In the new post-Brexit reality, as we further expand our cooperation, we will be making the lives of both the British people and the Israeli people more prosperous and more secure”.