BICOM

UK Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt met with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah yesterday and praised the Palestinian leader for the progress he has made and the dynamic leadership he has shown towards state building and improving the lives of Palestinians. Burt reiterated to Fayyad that the UK remains committed to assisting the Palestinians in their preparation for statehood and announced an additional £17 million in funding for the Palestinian Authority to provide basic services to the Palestinians. Burt said the funding will pay for 4,400 children to attend school, help 340 primary and secondary school teachers and will provide 15,000 people with clean water through public services. The UK has also been at the forefront in training and mentoring Palestinian security and law enforcement forces in the West Bank.

Burt and Fayyad also discussed the current state of the peace process with the UK minister calling for all parties to take immediate steps to secure a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman also met with Burt on Tuesday, and the two discussed efforts to restart stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Further reading – BICOM Research Paper: What can Britain do? Principles and Proposals for a British Contribution to Israeli-Palestinian Peace