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Board of Deputies president meets Middle East minister over UN vote
Mr Ellwood had extended the invitation to meet Mr Arkush after the Board president expressed his “deep disappointment” in the wake of the UN vote
January 11, 2017 15:33
Mr Ellwood had extended the invitation to meet Mr Arkush after the Board president expressed his “deep disappointment” in the wake of the UN vote
January 11, 2017 15:33Jonathan Arkush, Board of Deputies president, has met UK government officials to register concerns over the UK’s vote last month in favour of a UN resolution which condemned settlement building.
Mr Arkush met Tobias Ellwood, Middle East Minister, today.
Mr Ellwood had extended the invitation to meet Mr Arkush after the Board president expressed his “deep disappointment” in the wake of the UN vote, releasing a statement saying “the UK government failed to take the honourable course of exercising its power to veto a biased and unbalanced resolution".
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Arkush said: "I thank the minister for his invitation to express in person the community's deep concerns and disappointment about the recent United Nations Security Council resolution and I reiterated my position that such resolutions should be rejected in future.
"I took every opportunity to say to the Minister that while we accepted and understood that there could be a range of views on the settlement issue, our concern was focussed on the imbalance in the text, the inappropriate timing of the resolution and the fact that it gave a completely false impression to Palestinians that they could achieve all their goals through international pressure instead of direct negotiations.
"I think the Minister took the point, and he responded by saying that the UN resolution was not a blueprint for peace, but was intended as a helpful preparatory step which might help pave the way to peace. I respectfully disagreed with that view."
In a statement, Mr Ellwood said the government understood the concern.
He said: “While I reiterated the government's continued belief that settlement building is illegal, I was clear that it is far from the only obstacle to peace and the international community must not forget this. The government is unwavering in its commitment to Israel's security and we will continue to call out the scourge of Palestinian incitement and terrorism that blights the lives of ordinary Israelis.
“We will also urge Palestinians and Israelis alike to get back to the negotiating table, so that they can bring about the peace that is so urgently needed. I was also very pleased to discuss the strong bilateral relations between Israel and the UK, including our growing trade relationship and in-depth cooperation in the fields of education, science and technology and the opportunities to build on that as Britain begins the process of exiting the European Union."
On Tuesday, Boris Johnson, Foreign Secretary, defended Britain's support for resolution 2334 and told the House of Commons that Britain had been "closely involved" in its drafting.
Mr Johnson said: "I remind the House that the UK was closely involved in its drafting, although of course it was an Egyptian-generated resolution.
“We supported it only because it contained new language pointing out the infamy of terrorism that Israel suffers every day, not least on Sunday, when there was an attack in Jerusalem.
"I was glad that the resolution identified that aspect of the crisis in the Middle East, and John Kerry was absolutely right to point out the rounded nature of the resolution.”
