Gordon Brown promises Israel he will take the lead in preventing a nuclear Iran
By David Blair and Melissa Kite in Jerusalem
Last updated: 3:49 PM BST 21/07/2008
Gordon Brown has promised that Britain will take the lead in introducing firmer sanctions to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.
In the first speech by a British prime minister to the Knesset, Mr Brown proclaimed himself a "friend of Israel" who would increase the pressure on Tehran until President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad halted his atomic programme.
"Our country will continue to lead, with the US and our European partners in our determination to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapons programme. We stand ready to lead in taking firmer sanctions," he said.
Talks at the weekend between Iran's nuclear negotiator and representatives of America and the world's leading powers ended inconclusively without agreement. Mr Brown stressed that tougher action will be taken unless Iran complies with four United Nations Resolutions and stops enriching uranium.
Turning on Mr Ahmadinejad, the Prime Minister said: "To those who believe that threatening statements fall upon indifferent ears we say in one voice that it is totally abhorrent for the President of Iran to call for Israel to be wiped from the map of the world."
Mr Brown stressed his own personal attachment to Israel, recalling how his father, a Church of Scotland Minister, paid frequent visits to the country. "For the whole of my life, I have counted myself a friend of Israel".
He added: "Britain is your true friend. A friend in difficult times as well as in good times, a friend who will stand beside you whenever your peace, your stability and your existence are under threat; a friend who shares an unbreakable partnership based on shared values of liberty, democracy and justice.
"Britain and Israel continue to stand together. So to those who question Israel's right to exist and threaten the lives of its citizens through terror we say: the people of Israel have a right to live here, to live freely and to live in security."
However, Mr Brown added that Israel itself needed to make concessions to its neighbours to secure "a historic hard won and lasting peace" which had been brought within reach by the cooperation of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas - Israel's "best partner of a generation".
He urged Israel to create the conditions for a final agreement by "freezing, and withdrawing from settlements."
He added "like many of your friends, I urge you to make these decisions."
One member of the Israeli parliament heckled as Mr Brown delived what he described as his "honest analysis."
The prime minister had tried to begin his speech in Hebrew but struggled with the pronunciation of "nazal tov", or good fortunes, and "shalon Aleichem" or peace to unto you.
Story from Telegraph News:
Gordon Brown promises Israel he will take the lead in preventing a nuclear Iran - Telegraph