Shimon Peres

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s one-day visit to the UK next week has been dismissed by officials in his own government as “pointless” and an “embarrassing waste of national resources”.

Despite the Israeli PM being officially invited to London by Gordon Brown, Israeli officials have told the JC that Mr Olmert was “angling” for an invitation and that there was no urgent matter that warranted a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders.

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Pope Benedict XVI is to visit Israel next year at the invitation of President Shimon Peres, in an attempt to end the recent period of tension over the beatification of former Pope Pius XII.

The visit, which is yet to be formally announced, is set to take place in early May 2009.

President Peres officially invited the Pope a few weeks ago, following a meeting with Archbishop Antonio Franco, the papal nuncio in Jerusalem, who indicated that such an invitation would be positively received.

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Shortly after visiting the Queen and receiving his knighthood, President Shimon Peres arrived at Clarence House for an audience with Prince Charles.

Mr Peres and the Prince spoke for about 30 minu te s about the peace process, the Iranian nuclear programme and the Prince's ecological initiatives.

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The last stage of the Presidential visit to Britain was given over to diplomatic affairs.

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A diplomatic row is simmering behind this week's historic visit of President Shimon Peres.

Mr Peres, who flies back today after four days in Britain, met The Queen, the Prime Minister and made an emotional address to Parliament.

He also faced protests during an address to Oxford students and made an emotional address to MPs.
But his aides accused the British government of failing to deliver on promises to change the law that allows individuals to bring legal actions against IDF officers.

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Queen Elizabeth awarded an honorary knighthood this morning to President of Israel Shimon Peres. Mr Peres was knighted with the Grand Cross of the order of St Michael and St George.

The Queen and Mr Peres met for about 30 minutes during which Mr Peres spoke to the Queen about Israel's history and current situation. Mr Peres gave the Queen two gifts: a letter written by her father, George VI, upon the official recognition by Britain of the state of Israel, and two silver candlesticks in the shape of pomegranates.

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In an exclusive interview for the JC, Shimon Peres talks to Anshel Pfeffer about hecklers, boycotts and his relationship with Gordon Brown.

Here is the full text:

Mr President, all the red carpets are being rolled out for your visit to Britain. You are being awarded a knighthood and a doctorate and everyone you meet is making pro-Israel statements. But at the same time, we are seeing reports of unprecedented levels of hostility towards Israel in academia and parts of the British media. How do you explain the dissonance?

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Shimon peres told MPs and peers in an address to parliament that a speech made to the Knesset by Gordon Brown "invoked a distant memory within me".

He said that, while the Prime Minister's father "cherished the Bible", his father "experienced an attempt to kill the people of the Bible".

"In pre-state Israel, my father volunteered for the Royal British Army. He was captured by the German forces and became a prisoner of war.

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Senior Israeli diplomats and members of President Shimon Peres's entourage have expressed their disappointment at the absence of pro-Israel demonstrators around the events in the presidential visit.

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President Shimon Peres showed grace under fire on Tuesday night when he was systematically heckled and barracked by Oxford students at the city's Sheldonian Theatre.

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