Starmer faces call to ‘sit this one out' on Gaza amid US-UK ‘disagreement'

Yahoo

a day ago

Sir Keir Starmer has faced a call to 'sit this one out' on Gaza, after the Prime Minister warned the Israeli government against pursuing its plan to take control of Gaza City.
Washington's ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also suggested that Sir Keir would have lost Britain the Second World War, had he been in No 10 at the time.
Earlier on Friday, US vice president JD Vance described a 'disagreement' about how the US and UK could achieve their 'common objectives' in the Middle East, and said Donald Trump's administration had 'no plans to recognise a Palestinian state'.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has unveiled new principles for military action which include 'the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip', 'Israeli security control in the Gaza Strip' and 'the establishment of an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority'.
The Israel Defence Forces 'will prepare for taking control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside the combat zones'.
After Sir Keir described the decision as being 'wrong' and called for a 'surge in humanitarian aid', Mr Huckabee wrote: 'So Israel is expected to surrender to Hamas and feed them even though Israeli hostages are being starved?
'Did UK surrender to Nazis and drop food to them? Ever heard of Dresden, PM Starmer?
'That wasn't food you dropped. If you had been PM then UK would be speaking German.'
In a follow-up post, the ambassador suggested Sir Keir 'ought to sit this one out'.
In a statement, Sir Keir had said: 'The Israeli government's decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong, and we urge it to reconsider immediately.
'This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed.
'Every day the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens and hostages taken by Hamas are being held in appalling and inhuman conditions.
'What we need is a ceasefire, a surge in humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages by Hamas and a negotiated solution.
'Hamas can play no part in the future of Gaza and must leave as well as disarm.
'Together with our allies, we are working on a long-term plan to secure peace in the region as part of a two-state solution, and ultimately achieve a brighter future for Palestinians and Israelis.
'But without both sides engaging in good faith negotiations, that prospect is vanishing before our eyes.'
Sir Keir has pledged to recognise a Palestinian state in September unless the Israeli government meets a series of conditions towards ending the war in Gaza.
These include taking 'substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza', 'agreeing to a ceasefire, and making clear there will be no annexations in the West Bank'.
At Foreign Secretary David Lammy's grace-and-favour retreat in Kent, Mr Vance said the UK 'is going to make its decision' on Palestinian recognition.
'We have no plans to recognise a Palestinian state,' he said.
'I don't know what it would mean to really recognise a Palestinian state given the lack of functional government there.'
Mr Vance added: 'There's a lot of common objectives here. There is some, I think, disagreement about how exactly to accomplish those common objectives, but look, it's a tough situation.'