Following Merkel, Bush, and Sarkozy, Gordon Brown Makes his Pilgrimage of Allegiance to Israel to Announce British Support for Israelis in their Expected Attack on Iran

Following Merkel, Bush, and Sarkozy, Gordon Brown Makes his Pilgrimage of Allegiance to Israel, to Announce British Support for Israelis in their Expected Attack on Iran

British PM wraps up Mideast visit with warnings, pledges, urges

www.chinaview.cn 2008-07-21 17:53:31

JERUSALEM, July 21 (Xinhua) --

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Monday wrapped up his visit to Israel and the Palestinian territory with a warning against Iran's nuclear program.

During the two-day trip, his first to the region since assuming office in 2007, Brown also pledged more support for the fledgling Palestinian economy and urged Israel to halt Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem (which is illegal under international law).

In an address delivered at the Israeli parliament, the first ever by a British premier, Brown told the Knesset that his country will continue its efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

"I promise that just as we have led the work on three mandatory sanctions resolutions of the UN, the UK will continue to lead, with the United States and our European Union partners, in our determination to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapons program," said Brown just before his departure.

He added that Iran now faces "a clear choice to make: suspend its nuclear program and accept our offer of negotiations or face growing isolation and the collective response not of one nation but of many nations."

Speaking prior to Brown, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also stressed that Israel could not reconcile with a nuclear Iran, branding Iran not only a menace to Israel but also a "global threat."

The remarks surrounding Iranian nuclear program came amid swirling speculations that Israel is planning an attack on Iran's nuclear sites. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said that Israel will not hesitate to attack if its key interests are threatened.

Israel, the United States and some other countries accuse Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons, but the Islamic republic denies the charge, insisting that its nuclear program is only for civil purposes.

Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany offered Iran financial and diplomatic incentives to halt its controversial nuclear activities at a Saturday meeting in Geneva, and gave Iran two weeks to respond.

If Iran did not accept the incentives, the next step would be to ratchet up sanctions against Tehran, possibly including sanctions on Iran's oil and gas industry, Israeli daily Ha'aretz quoted British government officials traveling with Brown as saying.

ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE

Besides assuring Israel that Britain will stand by its side against the Iranian threat, Brown also tried to breathe some fresh air into the sluggish peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.

In his landmark Knesset speech, Brown said he believes "a historic hard-won and lasting peace that can bring security on the ground is within your grasp" by seizing the opportunity opened up by the U.S.-hosted international conference in Annapolis, as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas "offers Israel the best partner of a generation."

However, at a joint press conference with Abbas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, he urged Israel to end settlement expansion, saying "it erodes trust, it heightens Palestinian suffering, it makes the compromises Israel needs to make for peace more difficult."

Olmert and Abbas separately told Brown that the two sides are trying to reach a comprehensive peace agreement by the end of this year, as they promised at the Annapolis summit.

In a bid to advance his "economic road map" for peace alongside the political one, Brown announced in Bethlehem an addition of 60 million U.S. dollars to the 500 million U.S. dollars his government has pledged for the Palestinian economy over the next three years.

"Developing the economy would help to flourish the peace process," Brown said, reiterating that a strong and sustainable Palestinian economy is a key necessity for improving the political and security situation across the region.

Following the footsteps of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. President George W. Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Brown arrived in Israel Saturday night, in part to celebrate the Jewish state's 60th anniversary, after a brief visit to Iraq.

He told the Knesset that his country has an "unbreakable" friendship with Israel, and slammed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denial of Israel's right to exist, calling it "totally abhorrent."

Editor: Jiang Yuxia

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