UK PM to discuss Mideast process with Palestinian leader

PanARMENIAN.Net - Efforts to rekindle the Middle East peace process are set to dominate day two of Prime Minister David Cameron's visit to Israel and the West Bank, according to BBC News.

Cameron will meet former PM Tony Blair, who represents the UN, the EU, the U.S. and Russia in the region.

The prime minister will then go to Bethlehem for talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Cameron is expected to promise new money to help Palestinian companies gain access to foreign markets. The prime minister also wants to see training given to more than 1,000 female refugees in Gaza. He said his aim is to create new jobs and industries that could also benefit Israelis.

The meeting with Blair in East Jerusalem will last for about 20 minutes, it is understood. The pair will also discuss Blair's Palestinian economic initiative.

Despite Palestinian rocket attacks on Wednesday, March 12, which were followed by Israeli airstrikes, Cameron is still expected to hold a video conference with young Palestinians in Gaza to discuss the humanitarian situation.

He has "unreservedly" condemned the Palestinian attack, which was claimed by the Islamic Jihad group. Before Cameron left for the Middle East, Downing Street said he would use his first trip to Israel as prime minister to call on both sides to back U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's peace process plans.

Kerry wants Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sign up to a framework for a final settlement by the end of next month.

On the first day of his two-day trip, Cameron used a speech to Israel's parliament, the Knesset, to urge the country's politicians to pursue a deal with Palestinians to bring "an end of all conflict".

Cameron also rejected calls for boycotts of Israel and told the parliament: "We all yearn for a lasting and secure peace between Israel and its neighbors.Britain fully supports the great work that American Secretary of State John Kerry has been leading. And we believe that in Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas you have leaders who want peace too."

Cameron last visited Israel as leader of the opposition in 2009.