Philip Hammond
Philip HammondReuters

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Friday issued a statement about the rising wave of Arab terrorism engulfing Israel, but equally blamed Arab terrorists and "Israeli settlers" while urging an end to the Jewish presence in the Biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria.

"I continue to be deeply concerned by violent clashes across the Occupied Palestinian Territories (i.e. Judea and Samaria - ed.) and Israel which have resulted in a number of deaths and hundreds of injuries," began Hammond.

“We condemn all acts of violence, including attacks by Palestinians and by Israeli settlers," he said, equating pre-planned terror attacks with unspecified "settler violence."

"We urge all sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the tensions and avoid actions that threaten to exacerbate the situation."

“Every Israeli and Palestinian has the right to live in peace and security. We understand, and share, the deep frustration on all sides at the lack of progress on the Middle East Peace Process."

"The current violence underlines that a just and lasting resolution that ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians is long overdue," concluded the British Foreign Secretary.

Hammond's demand for an end to Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria comes despite his attempt to show support for Israel on Thursday, in which he mocked Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn’s failure to refer to Israel by name.

In August he hurriedly reopened the UK embassy in Tehran that was trashed by Iranian rioters in 2011 who apparently acted under state guidance - Iran did not bother to cover up the graffiti reading "death to England" still scrawled on several places in the embassy.

He later admitted there are no guarantees Iran will not build a nuclear bomb following the controversial nuclear deal.