Foreign secretary David Lammy has this week made his first visit to Israel and the West Bank following his appointment on 5 July.
During the trip, the Foreign Secretary reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, including the release of the remaining Israeli hostages and for a rapid increase of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Lammy met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas. He made clear to both leaders the need for a “credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution”.
He also met with Israeli president Isaac Herzog and with families with links to the UK whose loved ones were murdered or kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October.
In the West Bank, the Foreign Secretary welcomed and reiterated the Palestinian Authority need to reform and made clear the UK’s support for the Palestinian Authority as the representative of the Palestinian people.
In Jerusalem, Lammy also visited Yad Vashem and participated in a wreath-laying memorial ceremony in its Hall of Remembrance, during which he paid particular tribute to the Jewish community of Stamford Hill in his Tottenham constituency.
Labour Friends of Israel director Michael Rubin told the Jewish Chronicle: “It’s a welcome and important sign that the foreign secretary has visited Israel so early on in office. The new government has a real opportunity to strengthen the bilateral relationship, support a ceasefire deal that brings the hostages home, and work towards a political process ultimately leading to lasting peace and security through a negotiated two-state solution.”
