Hague: 'Belligerent' Israel should tame its rhetoric - Jerusalem Post

British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Wednesday warned that "belligerent" Israel should tame its rhetoric and said unrest in Arab countries may hinder the peace process.

In an interview published by London based paper The Times, Hague said that recent popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan could undermine the search for a permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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"Amidst the opportunity for countries like Tunisia and Egypt, there is a legitimate fear that the Middle East peace process will lose further momentum and be put to one side, and will be a casualty of uncertainty in the region," Hague said.

"This should not be a time for belligerent language," Hague argued when asked about Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's call to ready for "any outcome."

"It is a time to inject greater urgency into the Middle East peace process," the British foreign minister told The Times.

Hague explained that he thought Israel's stance on settlement activities in the West Bank is "disappointing" and went on to say that peace may become "impossible" within a few years.

Hague voiced his concern that a conflict that a conflict may break about between Israel and Hizbullah following last month's collapse of the Lebanese government.

"The scale of any military conflict that may happen between Israel and Hizbullah is growing, because of the growth of armaments in the area," Hague said to the paper.