British Labour party: Israeli settlement construction 'undermines trust'

Leader of the British Labour party Jeremy Corbyn said Prime Minister Theresa May “must make clear to Israeli PM that Britain will stand behind the rights of the Palestinian people”.

The call came as London received the Israeli prime minister for the first time since she was sworn into office.

“When Theresa May meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she has let it be known she will tell him that building settlements on occupied Palestinian land undermines trust”, Corbyn said in a statement.

He further rebuked the recent Israeli decision to build 3,000 settler homes in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, saying the move is “illegal under international law and a threat to peace and international security,” while it further undermines “the prospect of a two-state solution”.

Read: France condemns resumption of Israeli settlements’ construction in Jerusalem

Speaking of the latest Israeli lobby scandal that invited backlash from many British MPs and pro-Palestine groups, Corbyn asked that Netanyahu provides assurances that “improper interference” by Israeli embassy diplomats in British politics will not be repeated.

Hundreds of people lined the streets outside Downing Street today in protest against Netanyahu’s visit to the UK.

Before the start of his visit Netanyahu urged May to back new sanctions on Iran which “seeks to annihilate Israel, it seeks to conquer the Middle East, it threatens Europe, it threatens the West, it threatens the world. And it offers provocation after provocation,” he warned.