Two very different messages have emerged from meetings held in Jerusalem this week between British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Foreign Office, in a post-meeting statement, said Mr Raab had “congratulated Israel on the normalisation of ties with the UAE and discussed the importance of building on Israel’s commitment to suspend annexation plans and the opportunity to resume direct talks with the Palestinian Authority towards an enduring two-state solution”.
According to the Foreign Office, the two men had “discussed their shared concerns over regional stability, including countering Iran’s destabilising behaviour in the region, and the situation in Lebanon”.
But a statement from Israel’s Government Press Office used much stronger language, characterised in Israeli media as the prime minister “scolding” the British minister.
