Johnson to Corbyn: Don’t be so ‘characteristically negative’ about deal of the century

PM Boris Johnson hits back by telling Corbyn not to be so ‘characteristically negative.’

By World Israel News Staff

In a war of words on Wednesday, U.K. Prime minister Boris Johnson sparred with Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn regarding President Trump’s proposed Mideast peace deal.

During this week’s Prime Minister’s Question Time (PMQ), a forum that gives MPs the chance to question the Prime Minister on his policies, Corbyn called on Johnson to stand up and tell Trump “frankly and candidly that on this you are wrong.”

“It will annex Palestinian territory, lock in illegal Israeli colonization, transfer Palestinian citizens of Israel and deny Palestinian people their fundamental rights,” Corbyn said.

“When the government meets with the U.S. secretary of state later today, will he make it clear that the British government will stand for a genuine, internationally backed peace plan rather than this stuff proposed by Trump yesterday?” he added.

Johnson hit back by telling Corbyn that instead of being so “characteristically negative” he should instead reach out to his “friend” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and “urge him for once to engage, to get talking rather than to leave a political vacuum.”

“No peace plan is perfect, but this has the merit of a two-state solution. It would ensure Jerusalem is both the capital of Israel and the Palestinian people,” Johnson said.

In response, Corbyn told Johnson that Trump’s peace plan has no support from “any Palestinian anywhere in the world.”

Corbyn announced in December that he will be stepping down as Labour leader after a humiliating defeat to Johnson in the last election.

His potential successors were also quick to dismiss Trump’s peace plan.

Labour MP Lisa Nandy told LBC Radio on Wednesday that she was “horrified” about the “reckless” plan.

“I’ve spent seven years as the vice-chair in the Labour Friends of Palestine in the Middle East, watching the situation get worse for the Palestinian people,” Nandy said.

“What this does is close off the prospect of any two-state solution. And that is devastating for Israel as well,” she added.

On Twitter, Labour MP Keir Starmer called the plan a “farce” and “inconsistent with international law and human rights protections.”

“Our government should unequivocally condemn it because it will cause even more suffering for the Palestinian people who have already endured so much,” he wrote.

Boris JohnsonJeremy CorbynMideast peace plan