After Jerusalem on Wednesday, British Prime Minister David Cameron will travel to Bethlehem on Thursday to meet with Palestinian leaders including PA President Mahmoud Abbas. He will, of course, express Britain’s long-standing support for the establishment of a Palestinian state. But he is also expected to take the opportunity to unveil a plan to aid the development of Palestinian businesses. Britain’s close relations to the Gulf and Cameron’s own repeated trips there mean the prime minister is well placed to help the Palestinians realize the promise of future prosperity.

By inviting the Palestinians to look forward to the fruits of peace, Cameron is harmonizing with US Secretary of State John Kerry, who used his Davos speech this year to reframe the conflict. “We often spend so much time talking about what both parties stand to lose without peace that we actually sometimes forget to talk enough about what they stand to gain from peace.” He went on: “Palestinians stand to gain, above all else, an independent, viable, contiguous state, their own place among the community of nations … together, the Jewish state of Israel and the Arab state of Palestine can develop into an international hub for technology, for trade, tourism—tourism, unbelievably tourism, the holy sites of the world, of the major three religions.”

Cameron is also in lock step with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Speaking to the recent AIPAC conference in Washington, Bibi struck a new tone. Even the left-wing Haaretz newspaper took note. “For the first time in a major speech, Netanyahu used ‘leftist’ language and stressed ‘the fruits of peace’ that Israel will enjoy if it reaches an agreement with the Palestinians. For a moment one could have thought that it was Shimon Peres at the podium or, God forbid, John Kerry.”

And there are voices in Cameron’s Conservative Party urging this sensible approach. Mike Freer, MP,writes on the eve of the trip that “David Cameron should be fulsome about the benefits of success for both sides. It is a mistake to focus on what each side has to give up. Not enough time is spent telling both Israelis and Palestinians what they stand to gain.”

Read the article in full at World Affairs.