British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today said that he fully supports the country’s government during his visit to Israel. “This is an extraordinary visit, as no British prime minister has visited Israel since 2014,” said former British correspondent Peter de Waard.

Sunak’s visit to Israel follows visits by US President Joe Biden and German President Olaf Scholz. “Britain has always wanted to be at the forefront of the international diplomacy game,” said De Waard. ‘So Sunak has come forward.’

Also read | Biden on Israel: ‘It’s better not to go’

Sunak urged the Israeli government to allow humanitarian aid through the border with Egypt. In doing so, he supports Biden, who has also previously insisted on this.’ However, De Waard said: The British Prime Minister was there primarily to express his support following the Hamas attack on October 7.

Transit

After the visit to Israel, Sunak will travel to Saudi Arabia. He did something Biden couldn’t do. Biden was supposed to speak with leaders from the region in Jordan, but was canceled because of an attack on a hospital in Gaza. “Britain has better contacts with Arab countries than, for example, the United States. For example, Palestine is a former British colony, and therefore they can make better agreements there.” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has visited Qatar and Egypt. ‘He traveled ahead of Sunak.’

Also read | Sunak also insisted on allowing humanitarian aid for Gaza

A search is currently underway to determine who is best able to fulfill the role of mediator between Israel and Hamas. “The UK wants to do this,” estimates De Waard. ‘Britain has many Arabs in the Foreign Office and they have good contacts in former British colonies.’ Although the former correspondent argued that a more neutral country might be better suited to do this, as Sunak said, he fully supports Israel.