Conservative MPs this week further voiced their welcoming of last month’s Israel-UAE normalisation deal, and asked the Government what the UK doing to support further ties between Israel and Arab states.
During Foreign, Commonwealth and Development (FCDO) questions, Michael Fabricant MP congratulated the US on brokering the agreement and asked the Foreign Secretary “what role does he see for the United Kingdom in brokering further such peace deals” with Arab states.
The Lichfield MP also added that a “two-state deal is not going to happen as long as we have Hamas and Hezbollah taking the line they do”.
In response, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “I think the UAE deal with Israel is very positive. We are looking to and will certainly be encouraging—indeed, we have already started to encourage—others to follow suit, but also to make sure that we can engage with the Palestinians, at the level of the Palestinian Authority, to try to galvanise some dialogue between the two principal protagonists to the dispute”.
Conservative MPs Scott Benton and Mark Jenkinson asked written parliamentary questions on whether the UK “is working with the US Administration to encourage Arab states to follow the United Arab Emirates’ example and agree a peace deal with Israel”.
Middle East Minister James Cleverly replied stating that the UK “welcomes all efforts towards peace and we continue to work closely with international partners”, adding that “The changing regional context and converging Arab and Israeli interests presents an opening to develop Arab-Israeli relations and create the conditions for serious Israeli-Palestinian talks to resume. The Arab League and Arab states have a key role in the peace process and we are in close contact on this issue”.
