British FM: End of 'Israeli Occupation' Long Overdue

Philip Hammond

ARUTZ SHEVA: Hammond equates Arab terrorists and 'Israeli settlers,' demands end to Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Friday issued a statement about the rising wave of Arab terrorism engulfing Israel, but equally blamed Arab terrorists and "Israeli settlers" while urging an end to the Jewish presence in the Biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria.

"I continue to be deeply concerned by violent clashes across the Occupied Palestinian Territories (i.e. Judea and Samaria - ed.) and Israel which have resulted in a number of deaths and hundreds of injuries," began Hammond.

“We condemn all acts of violence, including attacks by Palestinians and by Israeli settlers," he said, equating pre-planned terror attacks with unspecified "settler violence."

"We urge all sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the tensions and avoid actions that threaten to exacerbate the situation." » | Arutz Sheva Staff | Friday, October 9, 2015

UK Ditches Plan to Bid for £5.9m Saudi Arabia Prisons Contract

THE GUARDIAN: Opposition MPs laud justice secretary Michael Gove, while PM is to write to Saudis over fate of UK pensioner Karl Andree, who faces 360 lashes

Downing Street has announced that the government is to cancel a £5.9m contract to provide a training programme for prisons in Saudi Arabia.

In a significant victory for the justice secretary, Michael Gove – whose attempts to cancel the project had been resisted by David Cameron and the foreign secretary, Philip Hammond – the prime minister’s spokeswoman said the contract has been cancelled following a review.

The spokeswoman said: “This bid to provide the additional training to Saudi Arabia has been reviewed and the government has decided that it won’t be proceeding with the bid. The review has been ongoing following the decision that was announced earlier in September to close down the Just Solutions International branch of the Ministry of Justice that was providing some of these services.”

In another significant development, Downing Street also announced that the prime minister is to write to the Saudi authorities to raise his concerns about the case of Karl Andree, the 74-year-old grandfather who is due to face 360 lashes for transporting homemade wine in his car.

The No 10 spokeswoman said: “This is an extremely concerning case. We have been providing consular assistance to Mr Andree and to his family since he was first arrested. We have raised the case repeatedly in recent weeks. » | Nicholas Watt and Alan Travis | Tuesday, October 13, 2015

THE GUARDIAN: Saudi prisons contract: Gove and Hammond clash over deal: Foreign secretary accuses cabinet colleague of ‘naivety’ for seeking to withdraw from £5.9m bid to provide services to Saudi penal system » | Nadia Khomami | Tuesday, October 13, 2015

THE GUARDIAN: Michael Gove emerges as human rights hero over bid to scrap Saudi prisons deal: Fresh details of justice secretary’s cabinet battle with Philip Hammond casts him as improbable champion of human rights » | Alan Travis Home affairs editor | Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Netanyahu Rebuffs Philip Hammond over Iran Deal

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond holds a press
conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
at the latter's office in Jerusalem

THE TELEGRAPH: Israeli premier takes Foreign Secretary to task for remarks doubting whether Jewish State would have accepted any deal over Tehran's nuclear programme

Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a sharp rebuff to Philip Hammond over the Iran nuclear deal on Thursday, publicly dismissing the Foreign Secretary's assertion that Israel would have been unhappy with any agreement.

In a tense face-to-face exchange that reflected the gulf between Israel and the six world powers who negotiated with Tehran, Mr Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, rejected the visiting British statesman's efforts to sell the pact signed this week in Vienna. At the same time, he tackled head-on criticisms Mr Hammond had voiced on the eve of his trip.

“Israelis know better than anyone else the cost of permanent conflict with Iran and it is wrong to suggest that Israel wants such an outcome. We [sic] seek a genuine and effective diplomatic solution," Mr Netanyahu told Mr Hammond in Jerusalem.

"The alternative to this deal is not war. The alternative is a better deal that would roll back Iran’s military nuclear program and tie the easing of restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program to changes in Iran’s behaviour. That’s the kind of deal that would be welcomed in Tel Aviv and here in Israel’s capital Jerusalem."

The Israeli leader's comments were aimed directly at Mr Hammond's remarks on Wednesday when he told the House of Commons that Israel opposed any accord with Tehran and would prefer permanent conflict. » | Robert Tait, Jerusalem | Thursday, July 16, 2015