Johnson says Britain still backs 2-state solution in Mideast

Britain’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that his country remains “absolutely” committed to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that obstacles to a deal, including accelerated Israeli settlement building, must be removed.

Boris Johnson said he believes it’s still possible to set up a state of Palestine alongside Israel and that the leadership change in Washington might offer an opportunity.

“There is a willingness to look at things with fresh eyes,” Johnson said after meeting with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki in the city of Ramallah, the base of the Palestinian autonomy government in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

President Donald Trump, in a break from his predecessors, has given mixed signals about whether the United States still supports a two-state solution.

His election has emboldened Israeli hard-liners who oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently stopped short of endorsing the idea.

 

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