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Boris Johnson urged to reject Crispin Blunt letter against annexation
Colonel Richard Kemp, the Marquess of Reading and film-maker Hugh Kitson call on the PM to recognise legal basis for Israeli plans in West Bank
June 2, 2020 15:31
Colonel Richard Kemp, the Marquess of Reading and film-maker Hugh Kitson call on the PM to recognise legal basis for Israeli plans in West Bank
June 2, 2020 15:31Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been urged to reject Conservative MP Crispin Blunt’s claim that Israel’s planned annexations in the West Bank would be a violation of international law.
Mr Blunt had written a letter to Mr Johnson – signed by 126 MPs and Peers as part of a campaign for the Council for Arab British Understanding (Caabu) – describing Israel’s plans “as a mortal blow to the chances of peace between Israelis and Palestinians based on any viable two-state solution”.
But in a response from Colonel Richard Kemp, the Marquess of Reading and film-maker Hugh Kitson, the PM is urged to recognise ‘’the historical and legal facts pertaining to this matter that the signatories of Mr Blunt’s letter seem either to not understand or to reject”.
In their letter of June 1, the trio suggest: “Decades spent pursuing the received wisdom reflected in Mr Blunt’s letter have, as you know, proven not only fruitless but have also increased suffering for the Palestinian people and heightened danger for Israeli citizens and the Jewish diaspora.
“Now is the time for new and creative thinking.”
Col Kemp writes that he has drawn on his experience of working for the Joint Intelligence Committee to conclude that “the US Administration’s current peace proposals, including sovereignty implementation, in fact represent the best chance for a lasting peace between the two sides as well as a future two-state solution”.
He adds: “I believe that this plan also has the potential to bring much-needed prosperity for the Palestinian people as well as greater stability to the region”.
The letter also attacks Mr Blunt and his colleagues for suggesting that “the UK’s response to Israel’s implementation of sovereignty should be to punish the State of Israel with sanctions and other action”.
They write: “On the contrary, I urge you to publicly support Israel’s implementation should it occur, as well as the other components of the US peace proposal.
‘’Increasing rather than damaging Britain’s trade relationship with Israel is in this country’s economic interest.
“Equally important, as you are well aware, the security of British citizens at home and overseas relies heavily on the continued strong intelligence, defence and technology relationship with Israel.”
Meanwhile, in a letter sent to Mr Blunt and to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, the trio set out the historical basis to their arguments, writing that the 1920 San Remo Conference, which recognised the right of the Jewish people to “reconstitute their historic homeland’’, gave their argument legal force.