British PM concerned about annexation, asks Netanyahu to negotiate with Palestinians
(Worthy News) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has expressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he is concerned about Israel’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank, the Jerusalem Post reports. In a phone call Tuesday, Johnson said annexation would hinder the prospect of peace in the region and asked the Israeli PM to return to negotiations with the Palestinians.
During the call, Netanyahu said Israel was prepared to start talks on the basis of the Trump Peace Plan, the Jerusalem Post reports. In a statement, Netanyahu described the Trump plan as “creative and realistic.” Moreover, the Israeli PM said, the Trump plan “doesn’t copy the failed formulas of the past.”
Expressing his concerns even prior to the call, Johnson wrote an article for the Israeli Yediot Aharonot newspaper last week, warning that annexation would breach international law and endanger Israeli security. He implored the Israeli government not to advance annexation but to hold talks with the Palestinians instead.
“There is another way,” Johnson said in his article. “I followed with great sadness the proposals for annexing Palestinian territory. As a friend, admirer and supporter of Israel for many years, I fear that these proposals won’t achieve their goal of securing Israel’s borders, and will even be against [Israel’s] long term interests.”
In any event, the two leaders agreed to strengthen ties between the UK and Israel in all areas, the Jerusalem Post reported.