Boris Johnson has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that any move to annex sections of the West Bank would “set back the prospects for peace”.

The Prime Minister spoke to his Israeli counterpart over the phone on Monday evening, according to a statement released by 10 Downing Street.  

The statement said that Mr Johnson “set out his concerns about plans to annex parts of the West Bank unilaterally and cautioned that this would set back prospects for peace in the region.

“He reiterated his personal support for Israel and urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to return to negotiations with the Palestinians,” the statement continued.

Boris Johnson has repeatedly stated that the British government opposes Mr Netanyahu’s stated aim to annex tranches of the West Bank, and on July 1 authored an Op-Ed in Israeli newspaper Yedioth Aronoth declaring: “As Israel’s friend, I urge you not to annex.”

Downing Street statement also added: “The leaders also underlined their ongoing commitment to UK-Israel trade and discussed the global response to coronavirus, agreeing to continue working together to tackle the pandemic.”