Former senior Israeli diplomat says UK support would secure Palestinian statehood

Alon Liel was a key part of Israel's foreign service for decades. At one point an adviser to Prime Minister Ehud Barak, he later became director general of Israel's foreign ministry in 2000, making him the country's most senior career diplomat.

In recent years, however, Liel has campaigned for the global recognition of a Palestinian state, and is a founding member of the Policy Working Group, a network of senior Israeli academics and former diplomats working to end Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.

In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with Middle East Eye in London, the former diplomat, now 76, argued that the UK is "uniquely placed" to help bring about a Palestinian state. 

"I was for 31 years an official in the Israeli government," Liel told MEE. "I understand the thinking. If Britain does minor things, like banning specific arms that we're not dependent on, or putting sanctions on settlers that were already convicted in Israeli courts, Israel can tolerate it."

But recognising a Palestinian state, he argued, would be a much more significant move.

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