Jerusalem - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Sunday
called for an end to Israeli settlements and pledged additional
financial assistance and support for the Palestinian Authority.
Brown was speaking in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank at a
joint press briefing with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
'We have a clear goal before us: a peace founded on 1967 borders
with a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel, Jerusalem
the capital of both nations,' Brown said after meeting Abbas.
Later, the visiting British leader met with Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem, who said a peace deal was closer than many
thought.
Olmert said he hoped that by year's end he and Abbas would
overcome any differences between them. The two sides relaunched
negotiations last year at a US-hosted Middle East peace talks in
Annapolis, Maryland.
'The question is whether we can seize the opportunity that has
been offered by Annapolis to take the next crucial steps,' Brown said
in Bethlehem.
'There are undoubted problems: the freezing of settlements;
stopping of the violence,' he added. Brown also described terrorism a
'major obstacle' to Palestinian statehood.
Britain, he said, would provide an additional 60 million dollars
in financial support to the Palestinian Authority, half of which
would go directly into its budget.
'We have pledged 500 million dollars for economic development in
Palestine over three years to 2011,' Brown said.
Britain would also provide support to help boost security for
Palestinians and host an investment conference in London later this
year, Brown said.
Abbas thanked Brown for the financial support and initiatives that
focus on the Palestinian economy. He said the British leader's visit
comes at a 'time when we see improvement' with regard to peace
negotiations and the truce between Israel and militant Palestinian
groups along the Gaza Strip.
Meeting with Olmert, Brown said Israel would be a 'true friend' to
Israel and work to create a future 'free from terror.'
Olmert reportedly spoke with the visitor about various issues,
including Iran's nuclear programme.
Brown received a red carpet welcome in Israel earlier Sunday, with
President Shimon Peres calling him 'one of the most respected leaders
of our time in my judgement.'
His two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank is his first since
he took office a year ago. He was scheduled to hold talks with both
Israeli and Palestinian officials, with a view to advancing the peace
process.
Brown's talks with Israeli officials were also to include the
Iranian nuclear programme and Israel's ongoing peace efforts with the
Palestinians and Syria, according to Israeli media reports. In Iraq
on Saturday, Brown had met with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
Peres received Brown and his wife at the presidential residence in
Jerusalem after they toured Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial
centre early Sunday.
The Israeli president praised Brown for his record and philosophy
and highlighted that the former British chancellor of the exchequer
had 'raised the British economy to unprecedented heights.'
Brown, in turn, said he felt it was a privilege to meet Peres,
saying: 'I know of the immense contribution you have made to the
history of this country in the many roles you have played.'
'Nothing prepares you for what we see here,' the British leader
had said at the memorial site, where he laid a wreath earlier. 'This
is the story of the atrocities that should have been prevented, the
killings that should never have happened, the truth that everybody
who loves humanity should know.'
Brown is expected to press the Palestinian leadership to improve
security in the understanding that Britain would then apply pressure
on Israel to lift restrictions on the occupied territories.
Brown has met most officials representing parties to the Middle
East conflicts on previous occasions in London.
He is also to meet members of the business community in Israel.
Brown followed his surprise stop Saturday in Iraq by flying on to Tel
Aviv in the evening.
Brown is to address the Knesset - the first British prime minister
to do so - before his departure on Monday afternoon.
margeJul 21st, 2008 - 08:30:59
Funny that all the so-called world leaders want to sanction Iran for its legal right to a nuclear program, but refuse to sanction Israel for its violation of numerous UN Resolutions, war crimes, and human rights violations. Iran should continue working on its nuclear program reqardless of the consequences and not succumb to the hypocrisy and double standards of the IAEA, EU, UN, US, NPT, and etc.
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