In his landmark address to the Knesset on Monday, becoming the first British Prime Minister to address the Israeli Knesset, Prime Minister Gordon Brown opened his remarks in Hebrew, congratulating Israel on her 60th anniversary. Brown stated his country stands firmly behind Israel and is ready to isolate Iran from the international community if need be, stating confidently that Iran has little options other than to comply with the international community. He pledged unwavering support of Israel and stressed the Jewish State has a right to live in peace and tranquility. He spoke of isolating Iran with the help of the international community, but never mentioned anything more, avoiding the issue of a military strike if necessary.

Mr. Brown called himself a “lifelong friend of Israel,” stating his government would combat any attempt at an academic boycott against Israel in his country, praising Israel’s accomplishments over the past 60 years.

BROWN CALLS FOR A RETURN TO PRE-’67 BORDERS

The prime minister then went on to speak about a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, stating Israel must freeze settlements and return to the pre-1967 Six Day War boundaries towards achieving peace with her neighbors. He spoke of Jerusalem being the capital of two nations, Israel and the PA.

BROWN RECEIVES A VIP WELCOME IN KNESSET

Prior to the visiting prime minister’s address, Knesset Speaker Itzik, Prime Minister Olmert and opposition leader Netanyahu all welcomed him, praising the “historic ties” between the two nations.

Olmert cited it was the Balfour Declaration that amounted to Britain becoming the first to recognize Israel’s right to a historic homeland, then thanking the visiting prime minister for his country’s efforts towards halting the Iranian nuclear program. Mr. Olmert called a nuclear Iran an “intolerable situation” that must be avoided.

Prime Minister Olmert also stated that while there are differences to be resolved, he is confident that an agreement can be reached between Israel and the PA by the end of 2008.

Netanyahu confirmed that Iran may not be permitted to go nuclear, stating in the past, Israel tried to run from extremist Islam and we must learn the lesson, that doing so only served to make extremists more powerful and thereby we have distanced peace.

MK ARIEL WALKS OUT ON BROWN’S ADDRESS

When Brown called for freezing “settlements”, referring to yishuvim in Yehuda and Shomron, National Union chairman, MK Uri Ariel, walked out of the plenum session. Ariel told the press “The British Mandate period has long ended. Britain is morally and historically responsible for many of the regions conflicts today, and therefore, Britain would do better to refrain from supporting plans that would uproot hundreds of thousands of Jews from their homes and give a territorial base for the establishment of a radical Islamic state.”

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)