Hague's Visit.

Hague's Visit.

 

Hague took time to visit the Schalit protest tent outside Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s home in Jerusalem as well. He called on Hamas to release Gilad Schalit, who has been held captive by that group for 1592 days. 

“The fact that Gilad Schalit is still being held without any access to humanitarian organizations tells you all you need to know about Hamas. If they want to join the West and be part of us, they must release him immediately.”

            Hague took advantage of his visit to sign a Film Co-production Agreement with Israel at the Foreign Ministry. He signed a similar one with the Palestinians in Ramallah. It is the first bilateral agreement Britain has signed with the Palestinians.

            At a dinner on Wednesday evening at the residence of British Ambassador Matthew Gould, Hague announced the formation of a new top level UKIsrael Life Sciences Council, which aims to take scientific cooperation between the two countries to new heights.

            When Gould presented his credentials to Peres last month, he told him that one of his key objectives was to intensify bilateral scientific cooperation. With this in mind, the dinner was also a vehicle for announcing the recipients of grants in energy and environment studies awarded by BIRAX, the British-Israel Research and Academic Exchange Program which is largely funded by the UK-based Pears Foundation, United Jewish Israel Appeal and the British and Israeli governments.

            The Pears Foundation invests in programs that promote respect and understanding between individuals of different backgrounds. This year it established the Pears Institute for the Study of Anti-Semitism at Birbeck College at the University of London.

            Haguee is expected to meet today (Thursday) with Netanyahu before leaving for Egypt.