BREAKING: David Lammy ultimatum to Israel over Gaza 'affront' applauded at UN
The Foreign Secretary was applauded at the UN General Secretary as he said the UK would recognise the Palestinian state by September unless Israel acts. In a brief speech he said: "The devastation in Gaza is heartbreaking.
"Children are starving and Israel's drip feeding of aid has horrified the world. These are an affront to the values of the charter of the United Nations."
The Foreign Secretary went on to say Britian "bears a special burden of responsibility" for a two-state solution. He said: "Let me be clear - the Netanyahu government's rejection of a two state solution is wrong. It's wrong morally, and it's wrong strategically. It harms the interests of the Israeli people."
"Our demands on Hamas remain absolute and unwavering," he clarified.
In a statement from Downing Street, the Prime Minister said the Palestinian people have "endured terrible suffering" with "catastrophic failure of aid". He added: "We see starving babies, children too weak to stand, images that will stay with us for a lifetime. The suffering must end."
Earlier on Tuesday, UN-backed experts said "the worst-case scenario of famine" was currently playing out in Gaza and warned of "widespread death" without urgent action.
It came as the Prime Minister held an emergency Cabinet meeting to discuss a peace plan for the region. He had summoned ministers back from the summer recess to discuss the proposals, which have been shared with France, Germany and US President Donald Trump.
Downing Street said the PM "opened by saying that he had called the meeting to address the situation in Gaza which was getting more desperate by the day".
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The Independent
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- The Independent
Gaza latest: Netanyahu claims Starmer ‘appeasing terrorists' over pledge to recognise Palestine unless war ends
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The Guardian
a minute ago
- The Guardian
Starmer hopes his ‘pathway to peace' will end war in Gaza. History suggests he may struggle
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Britain afforded Israel de facto recognition on 30 January 1949, in the last stages of the first Arab-Israeli war, and de jure recognition on 27 April 1950. For many Palestinians, the second part of the Balfour promise is yet to be made good. In the Arab nationalism of the Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, Britain saw a destabilising force that might subvert pro-western states such as Jordan. For Israel, Nasser was a threat for allowing Palestinian militants permission to launch attacks against it from the Gaza Strip, then controlled by Egypt. Matters were brought to a head when Egypt nationalised the Suez Canal Company on 26 July 1956. Under a secret agreement, Israel agreed to attack Sinai, the Egyptian peninsula between its western border and the canal. British and French forces would then intervene to 'separate the combatants', seizing control of the canal zone. The Anglo-French element was a debacle. The Israeli part of the plan went well. Israeli forces captured Sinai in its entirety, destroying three Egyptian divisions. From then on Israel was considered to be a major fighting force by the west. Britain exported arms to it from the 1960s in the belief that a strong Israel would reduce the chance of further war in the region. In the aftermath of the six-day war in 1967 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, primarily Egypt, Syria and Jordan, Britain played a key role in drafting United Nations security council resolution 242. It embodies the principle that has guided most of the peace plans that have followed – the exchange of land for peace. 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The National
9 minutes ago
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Victorian approach to welfare shames Labour
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(Image: PA) On paper Labour say they are – for instance, the secretaries of state for work and pensions, and for education, say in their foreword to the introduction ahead of this new strategy that there is a lot they can learn from action already taken in Scotland. But in the chamber, it's a whole other ball game. Not a week goes by that I don't think of that phrase 'people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones' while I'm sitting in the House of Commons listening to what seems to be a coordinated strategy by Labour to attack the Scottish Government in Holyrood at every available opportunity even when the focus is very much on their own failures at [[Westminster]]. That's politics I hear you say, but it's more than that. In fact, I'd go as far to say it's like a kind of 'blame shifting' to use psychological terminology. A perfect example comes from just a couple of weeks ago, when the Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Murray MP, was answering questions in the chamber on the Government's Spending Review. My colleague, MP Stephen Gethins, challenged Murray on his party's failure to scrap the two-child cap only to be met with a defensive volley on the number of children that are homeless in Scotland. A little rudimentary digging on Shelter England's website and you can see that of course Murray failed to highlight that in England, there are 164,040 children living in temporary accommodation with their families, which is the highest number on record and represents a 15% increase in the last year alone. Additionally, there are 126,040 households in England experiencing homelessness in temporary accommodation, another record high and a 16% increase in 12 months. This is hardly a record to be proud of, and not a position of strength from which to point the finger at other governments. Fortunately, a decent amount of finger pointing has already been done by Labour's own MPs, with their welfare cuts described as 'Dickensian'. Those MPs have been punished subsequently, more blame shifting rather than addressing the key problem which is Labour's terrible policy decisions. And only one of them was a Scottish Labour MP, while the others continue to bow and scrape to Number 10. Even the UN has waded in to highlight how Labour's welfare cuts could threaten the human rights of disabled people. And this from a government led by a former human rights lawyer. It reminded me of the UN's comments on the Tory government's welfare policies, with the special rapporteur on extreme poverty describing 'workhouse' conditions and the 'systematic immiseration' of the British population thanks to austerity. Red or blue, it's the same old same old. Collaborating with Scotland on best practice on social security – not just with our Scottish Child Payment but with our efforts to reinstate the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners before Labour's major U-turn, and now our upcoming mitigation of the two-child cap – would change the narrative on Labour's Victorian approach to welfare. This would signal a more grown-up approach to politics than the current tribal mudslinging variety that Labour favours. Don't hold your breath. So, every time you hear a Labour MP, particularly the Scottish ones, have a poke at Scotland and the SNP Government at Holyrood, remember this coordinated blame shift. Because behind every snide and spurious comment about Scotland lies a truth that Labour can't deny – they're failing to make any progress, and fast. All the more reason for Scotland to be rid of Westminster for good.
