David Cameron will be
accompanied by members of the Holocaust Commission and a business
delegation on his visit to Israel.
David Cameron is to fly to Israel
on Wednesday to deliver an appeal to its parliament to recognise time
is running out on one of the best chances for a Middle East peace deal
in decades.
The US secretary of state, John Kerry, has invested huge amounts of time and energy in trying to pull the parties toward a framework agreement, but has set a deadline of the end of April for a deal on an outline understanding.
It will be Cameron's first visit to Israel since he became prime minister, and in what some regard as a belated two-day trip, he will try to set out a vision to all sides detailing how Palestine and Israel could be transformed economically if they could strike a deal with aid flowing from the EU and the rest of the world.
He will travel to the Palestinian occupied territories on Thursday where he will announce a further package of aid.
Speaking ahead of his visit, he said: "Secretary Kerry's efforts to secure agreement on a negotiating framework that could lead to peace are entering a critical phase. And I'll be using my visit to support those peace efforts. I want to encourage [Israeli] prime minister [Binyamin] Netanyahu and [Palestinian] President [Mahmoud] Abbas to build on the strong leadership they have shown so far and to take the final difficult steps towards peace.
"The prize could be great: a stable, prosperous Middle East with a sovereign and viable Palestinian state living in peace alongside a secure Israel at the heart of it."
Cameron will not be the first British prime minister to speak to the Knesset, as Gordon Brown was afforded the same honour in 2008. Downing Street says he has been waiting for the most opportune time to go to Israel to lend his support to a peace deal, and denies that he has been disengaged from the peace negotiations.
He will be under pressure from Israel to say he would recognise Israel as a Jewish state if a two state solution was struck, a proposal rejected outright by Abbas.
The chances of a two state solution are complicated by Israeli settlements on the West Bank – denounced by the Foreign Office as in breach of international law.
Although secrecy has surrounded the state of the Kerry talks, there is growing concern at the pace of progress – a frustration voiced by Barack Obama when Netanyahu visited Washington this month.
The US has been warning of the danger of growing political isolation for Israel if it does not strike a deal.
William Hague, the foreign secretary, earlier this year said: "I have warned Israeli leaders, as well as Palestinians, that much of the world will see this as the last chance at a two-state solution. Many observers will say if it doesn't work, that if John Kerry, with all the weight of the United States, all his experience and standing in the Middle East and the world, cannot bring the two sides together to reach final-status agreements, then who can?"
Hague, unlike Kerry, has not spoken of a possible boycott of Israeli goods if they fail to settle, but has spoken of "terrible consequences to fear".
He added: "It would bring a great deal of international pressure on Israel, including at the United Nations, and there would be many moves for the Palestinians to seek greater recognition at the UN, which would command a huge amount of international support."
Cameron personally caused offence in when he referred to Gaza as a prison camp on a visit to Turkey in 2010, a phrase he had already used in the House of Commons, but he has since then rebuilt his bridges with the Israelis, partly by taking a strong stand against the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
He will be accompanied by members of the Holocaust Commission, as well as a business delegation with an emphasis of high tech industry.
The US secretary of state, John Kerry, has invested huge amounts of time and energy in trying to pull the parties toward a framework agreement, but has set a deadline of the end of April for a deal on an outline understanding.
It will be Cameron's first visit to Israel since he became prime minister, and in what some regard as a belated two-day trip, he will try to set out a vision to all sides detailing how Palestine and Israel could be transformed economically if they could strike a deal with aid flowing from the EU and the rest of the world.
He will travel to the Palestinian occupied territories on Thursday where he will announce a further package of aid.
Speaking ahead of his visit, he said: "Secretary Kerry's efforts to secure agreement on a negotiating framework that could lead to peace are entering a critical phase. And I'll be using my visit to support those peace efforts. I want to encourage [Israeli] prime minister [Binyamin] Netanyahu and [Palestinian] President [Mahmoud] Abbas to build on the strong leadership they have shown so far and to take the final difficult steps towards peace.
"The prize could be great: a stable, prosperous Middle East with a sovereign and viable Palestinian state living in peace alongside a secure Israel at the heart of it."
Cameron will not be the first British prime minister to speak to the Knesset, as Gordon Brown was afforded the same honour in 2008. Downing Street says he has been waiting for the most opportune time to go to Israel to lend his support to a peace deal, and denies that he has been disengaged from the peace negotiations.
He will be under pressure from Israel to say he would recognise Israel as a Jewish state if a two state solution was struck, a proposal rejected outright by Abbas.
The chances of a two state solution are complicated by Israeli settlements on the West Bank – denounced by the Foreign Office as in breach of international law.
Although secrecy has surrounded the state of the Kerry talks, there is growing concern at the pace of progress – a frustration voiced by Barack Obama when Netanyahu visited Washington this month.
The US has been warning of the danger of growing political isolation for Israel if it does not strike a deal.
William Hague, the foreign secretary, earlier this year said: "I have warned Israeli leaders, as well as Palestinians, that much of the world will see this as the last chance at a two-state solution. Many observers will say if it doesn't work, that if John Kerry, with all the weight of the United States, all his experience and standing in the Middle East and the world, cannot bring the two sides together to reach final-status agreements, then who can?"
Hague, unlike Kerry, has not spoken of a possible boycott of Israeli goods if they fail to settle, but has spoken of "terrible consequences to fear".
He added: "It would bring a great deal of international pressure on Israel, including at the United Nations, and there would be many moves for the Palestinians to seek greater recognition at the UN, which would command a huge amount of international support."
Cameron personally caused offence in when he referred to Gaza as a prison camp on a visit to Turkey in 2010, a phrase he had already used in the House of Commons, but he has since then rebuilt his bridges with the Israelis, partly by taking a strong stand against the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
He will be accompanied by members of the Holocaust Commission, as well as a business delegation with an emphasis of high tech industry.
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