Britain on Jan. 16 condemned Israeli settlements as “deliberate vandalism” of efforts to establish a Palestinian state, and warned that time was running out for the peace process in the Middle East. The comments on Jewish settlements by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and on the peace process by Prime Minister David Cameron, bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as negotiators attempt to revive moribund peace talks.
Clegg’s comments were some of Britain’s strongest yet on the Middle East’s most intractable conflict. “Once you place physical facts on the ground which make it impossible to deliver what everyone has for years agreed is the ultimate destination, then you do immense damage,” Clegg said during a visit to London by Abbas, referring to settlements impeding efforts to create a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
“It’s an act of deliberate vandalism to the basic premise upon which negotiations have taken place for years and that is why we have expressed our concerns as a government in increasingly forceful terms,” he told reporters.