Sajid Javid visits Kotel, Yad Vashem and meets Netanyahu on Israel trip
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Sajid Javid visits Kotel, Yad Vashem and meets Netanyahu on Israel trip

Home Secretary placed a note between the stones of Jerusalem's Western Wall during his visit this week, before meeting senior Israeli leaders and praying at the Al Aqsa Mosque

  • Sajid Javid pays his respects at Yad Vashem
    Sajid Javid pays his respects at Yad Vashem
  • Javid (centre) in Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, Jerusalem
    Javid (centre) in Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, Jerusalem
  • Sajid Javid at the Hall of Names, in Yad Vashem
    Sajid Javid at the Hall of Names, in Yad Vashem
  • Sajid Javid meeting Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
    Sajid Javid meeting Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
  • Sajid Javid places a note into the wall at the Kotel
    Sajid Javid places a note into the wall at the Kotel
  • Sajid Javid at Yad Vashem
    Sajid Javid at Yad Vashem
  • Sajid Javid at the Kotel
    Sajid Javid at the Kotel

Home Secretary Sajid Javid placed a note between the stones of Jerusalem’s Western Wall today during a two-day visit to Israel.

Before meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and after a “deeply moving and emotional” visit to the national Holocaust memorial and museum at Yad Vashem, Javid toured Jerusalem and became the first UK cabinet minister to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site.

He said: “Freedom of religion and belief is a non-negotiable right for all peoples, and the UK government is committed to tackling anti-Muslim hatred, antisemitism, the persecution of Christians and any other impediments to this right both in the UK and around the world.”

Javid and Netanyahu said they discussed security cooperation, and the Israeli PM thanked the home secretary for banning Hezbollah in its entirety earlier this year.

Israeli Minister of Public Security and Strategic Affairs Gilad Erdan tweeted that it was “a pleasure to host my dear friend” while Javid tweeted that the UK and Israel “share an unbreakable bond”.

Erdan earlier said that the pair “agreed to establish joint working groups on combating online threats such as exploitation of children and terrorist incitement, and on facing the challenge of drones”.

Javid also met with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and UN Middle East envoy Nicoklay Mladenov, when he reaffirmed that the UK “remains committed to making progress towards a two-state solution… with Jerusalem as a shared capital”.

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