Bethlehem/PNN/
British Foreign Commonwealth and Development Minister Amanda Milling will visit the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 23 and 24 June, following her visit to Israel.
The Minister for Asia and the Middle East will use meetings with Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh, Foreign Minister Riyad al Malki, and Secretary-General of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation Hussein Al-Sheikh to reiterate the UK’s support for the Palestinian people and a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as a shared capital.
The Minister will also visit Palestinians at risk of eviction and displacement in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood and Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills. The UK continues to oppose evictions and demolitions, which are illegal under international law in all but the most exceptional circumstances.
The Minister will discuss the UK’s support to the Palestinian economy with prominent business leaders, before a discussion on the pressures on civic space in the OPTs with journalists, human rights defenders and representatives of civil society organisations.
The Minister will then travel to Jordan where she will discuss, among other topics, the important and historic custodianship of Jordan over the Holy Sites in the OPTs, including Jerusalem’s Old City.