In Foreign Office questions in the House of Commons this week, Conservative MPs reflected on 40 years since Egyptian President Sadat’s historic visit to Israel which led to the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, and called for the resumption of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Conservative MP for Aberdeen South, Ross Thomson, said that “this year marks 40 years since Egyptian President Sadat’s historic visit to Israel, which led to a lasting peace between Israel and Egypt”.
He added that “peace has only lasted when Israel’s neighbours have reciprocated its goodwill gestures, with land swaps a key aspect of that”.
Mr Thomson asked Middle East Minister Alistair Burt if he agreed “that there can be peace between Israel and Palestinians only following the resumption of direct peace talks in which issues including land borders can be resolved”.
Rt Hon Alistair Burt MP agreed, stating that we should remember “the 40th anniversary of the extraordinary activity that took place between Israel and Egypt”, and calling for similar gestures of peace from Israel and the Palestinians “to bring this long-standing conflict to an end”.
CFI Officer Bob Blackman MP asked the Minister what discussions he had with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu when he was in London recently about “face-to-face peace talks between the state of Israel and the Palestinians”, in order to “create a state of Palestine alongside a secure state of Israel”.
The Middle East Minister replied that Prime Minister Theresa May “encouraged [Netanyahu] to make the most of the likely opportunities that will come up when the Americans bring forward the proposals they have been discussing privately for some months about the prospects of peace”.
