The British Under Secretary of State Alistair Burt warned Wednesday that if the current attempts to restart the peace process between Israel and Palestine fail then Israel was likely to face unprecedented isolation.
In an interview with the Israeli Army Radio, the British under secretary said, "the pressures will mount" if the ongoing efforts backed up by the U.S. government fail to bring peace to the region.
"Israel's risk of isolation becomes ever greater, unless a solution is found," said the under secretary.
The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has made four trips to Israel and the Palestinian territories since he took office on Feb. 1. The U.S. secretary visited the region more than any other destination in a bid to bring the two sides together for peace talks following a year-long hiatus.
John Kerry was scheduled to make a fifth visit to Israel this week, but the secretary postponed it as he had to attend meetings in Washington on the Syrian civil war, according to the Times of Israel.
Alistair Burt also expressed his opposition to Palestinian demands for returning to the negotiation table. They have set up a precondition that there should be a settlement freeze on the West Bank.
Alistair Burt who was a former member of Conservative Friends of Israel and presently holds the Middle East portfolio at the U.K.'s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said neither side should be making any preconditions.
"Neither side should be in the business of demanding preconditions," said Burt. "Both sides should recognize that if a two-state solution is to be the answer, then the time to get on with that is very much now."
"Should this not be successful," added Burt, "I think the United Kingdom would be extremely worried about the outcome."
