British-Israeli tensions came to the fore on Friday when Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, not known for his pro-Israel views, canceled a planned joint press conference with visiting Foreign Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu angered the British with his criticism of Prime Minister Tony Blair for having recently hosted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and for planning to host a delegation of PA leaders. The Israeli diplomat said that the first event gave legitimacy to terror-sponsoring regimes, and that hosting the existing PA leadership would be similarly counter-productive.
Blair, for his part, did not meet with Netanyahu at all, despite having done so in a pleasant atmosphere when the latter was Prime Minister. His spokesman downplayed the significance of what some said was a "snub," saying that as Foreign Minister, Netanyahu would be expected to meet with his counterpart Straw and not Blair. He also added that in any case, Blair was visiting northeast England on Friday and would not have been able to meet Netanyahu. Blair will host, however, Israeli Labor Party leader and Prime Ministerial-hopeful Amram Mitzna sometime next month.
Blair, for his part, did not meet with Netanyahu at all, despite having done so in a pleasant atmosphere when the latter was Prime Minister. His spokesman downplayed the significance of what some said was a "snub," saying that as Foreign Minister, Netanyahu would be expected to meet with his counterpart Straw and not Blair. He also added that in any case, Blair was visiting northeast England on Friday and would not have been able to meet Netanyahu. Blair will host, however, Israeli Labor Party leader and Prime Ministerial-hopeful Amram Mitzna sometime next month.