BICOM

UK Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt said yesterday from Jordan that only direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations can achieve peace and the UK would not recognise a unilaterally declared Palestinian state. Concluding his tour of the region yesterday, Burt told the Palestinian Ma’an news agency in Amman that, “London could not recognise a state that does not have a capital, and doesn’t have borders” pointing to the core issues that will remain unresolved even after a unilateral Palestinian declaration. Instead, Burt noted, Britain is “looking forward to recognising a Palestinian state at the end of the negotiations on settlements because our position is again very straightforward: We wish to see a two-state solution, a secure and recognised Israel side by side with a viable Palestine, Jerusalem as a joint capital and agreed borders.”

A proposed UN Security Council resolution criticising Israel’s settlement construction was also referred to with caution. The Middle East minister said that the UK would consider any resolution carefully and added that any issue, referring to settlement construction, that creates an obstacle or hurdle towards a final peace agreement is not helpful. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday reiterated the American opposition to a Palestinian proposed UN Security Council resolution. Clinton said that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process should be resolved through direct negotiations and not through UN resolutions. “The only way that there will be a resolution of the conflict… is through a negotiated settlement,” Clinton said. The secretary of state added that ultimately that Palestinians and Israelis would need to make a decision and engage in negotiations that will result in compromises by both sides.

The draft UN resolution was sponsored by 120 countries, consisting mainly of Arab states and countries from the non-aligned bloc, and will only be brought to a vote next month at the earliest. However, the US has the option to veto the resolution, though Clinton did not say whether Washington plans to use the veto yet.