BICOM

UK Prime Minister Theresa May will attend a dinner this evening with her Israeli counterpart to mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration.

Before boarding his flight to London, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “I look forward to my visit to London. We’re going to mark a very important centenary – 100 years since the Balfour Declaration. I very much appreciate this gesture by the Prime Minister of Britain and the Government of Great Britain.”

He added that the Palestinian refusal to recognise the Balfour Declaration 100 years later is tragic. The UK has rejected calls to apologise and has said it is proud of its role in the creation of the State of Israel.

In a speech at a dinner marking the centenary this evening this evening Prime Minister May is expected to say that the UK-Israel relationship demands “a renewed resolve to support a lasting peace that is in the interests of both Israelis and Palestinians – and in the interests of us all”. Then she will call for “a peace deal that must be based on a two-state solution, with a secure and prosperous Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian State”.

Addressing the rise of antisemitism and anti-Zionism in the UK, May will say that “that there is today a new and pernicious form of antisemitism which uses criticism of the actions of the Israeli government as a despicable justification for questioning the very right of Israel to exist. Criticising the Government of Israel is never – and can never be – an excuse for hatred against the Jewish people – any more than criticising the British government would be an excuse for hatred against the British people. Put simply, there can be no excuses for any kind of hatred towards the Jewish people. There never have been – and there never will be.”

She will meet Prime Minister Netanyahu for talks in Downing Street today. Netanyahu will also meet UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Netanyahu is expected to discuss how to strengthen the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.