From the Liveblog of
Sunday, July 14, 2024
British FM won’t condition call for ceasefire on release of hostages
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
In his first trip abroad as UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy will call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during his visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority today, according to the British Foreign Office. He will also call for the release of all hostages in Gaza, but will not explicitly condition his call for a ceasefire on the hostage release.
“The death and destruction in Gaza is intolerable,” says Lammy in a statement. “This war must end now, with an immediate ceasefire, complied with by both sides. The fighting has got to stop, the hostages still cruelly detained by Hamas terrorists need to be released immediately and aid must be allowed in to reach the people of Gaza without restrictions.”
In his meetings with both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Lammy will also “highlight his commitment to recognizing a Palestinian state as an undeniable right of the Palestinian people, and as a contribution to a renewed peace process which results in a two-state solution with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.”
The Foreign Office says Lammy “will also call out settlements in the West Bank as illegal and harmful to a two-state solution on a visit to a Palestinian community.”
He will announce that London will provide another £5.5 million this year to the British medical aid charity UK-Med to fund its Gaza operations.
