Latest news with #PeaceSettlement
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Labour Government ‘deeply committed' to recognising Palestine, Reynolds says
Sir Keir Starmer's Government is 'deeply committed' to recognising a Palestinian state, a member of his Cabinet said. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds stressed that such a move would have to be meaningful and come as part of a 'genuine move towards a two-state solution and a long-term peace settlement' with Israel. The Prime Minister is under increasing pressure to fulfil Labour's promise to recognise Palestine. Mr Reynolds told LBC Radio: 'We are deeply committed to the recognition of Palestine as a state, which was part of our manifesto, but obviously we want that to be meaningful. 'Now, at the minute, there is not a Palestinian state there. There is no political agreement between the two principal Palestinian territories in the West Bank and Gaza. 'We have taken other steps in relation to the intolerable situation in Gaza. We've obviously sanctioned two Israeli cabinet ministers. I myself have ended arms exports to Israel that could be used in the conflict in Gaza. 'We've ended our talks with Israel on a more enhanced trade agreement and trade relationship. So we have taken those immediate steps. 'And we do want to see Palestine recognised. I want that to be meaningful. I want that to be working with partners, other countries around the world.' Labour's London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has piled pressure on Sir Keir to 'immediately recognise Palestinian statehood'. The UK must immediately recognise Palestinian statehood. There can be no two state solution if there is no viable state left to call Palestine. — Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) July 23, 2025 He said that the UK 'must do far more to pressure the Israeli government to stop this horrific senseless killing', as aid groups have warned of starvation in the Gaza Strip. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for the Royal Air Force to carry out airdrops of aid into Gaza. 'Aid delivered by the air is no substitute for the reopening of supply routes by land,' he said. 'But the extent of the humanitarian catastrophe we are now witnessing requires us to leave no stone unturned in our efforts to get aid to Gazans.' More than 100 organisations, including Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children, have put their names to an open letter in which they said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, 'waste away'. It comes as the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, labelled the situation in Gaza 'a stain on the conscience of the international community'. He said: 'With each passing day in Gaza, the violence, starvation and dehumanisation being inflicted on the civilian population by the government of Israel becomes more depraved and unconscionable.' Hamas-led militants based in Gaza abducted 251 people in the October 7 attack in 2023 that triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people. Fewer than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Labour Government ‘deeply committed' to recognising Palestine, Reynolds says
Sir Keir Starmer's Government is 'deeply committed' to recognising a Palestinian state, a member of his Cabinet said. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds stressed that such a move would have to be meaningful and come as part of a 'genuine move towards a two-state solution and a long-term peace settlement' with Israel. The Prime Minister is under increasing pressure to fulfil Labour's promise to recognise Palestine. Mr Reynolds told LBC Radio: 'We are deeply committed to the recognition of Palestine as a state, which was part of our manifesto, but obviously we want that to be meaningful. 'Now, at the minute, there is not a Palestinian state there. There is no political agreement between the two principal Palestinian territories in the West Bank and Gaza. 'We have taken other steps in relation to the intolerable situation in Gaza. We've obviously sanctioned two Israeli cabinet ministers. I myself have ended arms exports to Israel that could be used in the conflict in Gaza. 'We've ended our talks with Israel on a more enhanced trade agreement and trade relationship. So we have taken those immediate steps. 'And we do want to see Palestine recognised. I want that to be meaningful. I want that to be working with partners, other countries around the world.' Labour's London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has piled pressure on Sir Keir to 'immediately recognise Palestinian statehood'. He said that the UK 'must do far more to pressure the Israeli government to stop this horrific senseless killing', as aid groups have warned of starvation in the Gaza Strip. More than 100 organisations, including Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children, have put their names to an open letter in which they said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, 'waste away'. It comes as the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, labelled the situation in Gaza 'a stain on the conscience of the international community'. He said: 'With each passing day in Gaza, the violence, starvation and dehumanisation being inflicted on the civilian population by the government of Israel becomes more depraved and unconscionable.' Hamas-led militants based in Gaza abducted 251 people in the October 7 attack in 2023 that triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people. Fewer than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.
Al Jazeera
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,243
Here is how things stand on Monday, July 21: Fighting The Ministry of Defence in Moscow said Russian forces seized the village of Bila Hora in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, according to the state RIA Novosti news agency. A Russian attack on the village of Sveska in Ukraine's Sumy region killed a 78-year-old woman, according to Governor Oleh Hryhorov. Six more people were killed in Russian attacks on Synelnykove and Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk region, as well as Kostiantynivka, Pokrovsk and Raiske in the Donetsk region, according to local governors. Another Russian attack on Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia and Vasylivka districts wounded three women, Governor Ivan Fedorov said, adding that Russia launched 457 attacks on 18 settlements in the region on Sunday. In total, Ukraine's Air Force said it shot down 18 of 57 Russian drones overnight into Sunday. In Russia, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin posted eight separate updates over 24 hours on Telegram saying that several Ukrainian drones 'flying towards Moscow' had been shot down. 'Emergency services are working at the site of the debris fall,' he said in each case. In total, Russia's Ministry of Defence said that Russian forces shot down 216 Ukrainian drones in the 24 hours to 11:20pm Moscow time (20:20 GMT) on Sunday. Politics and diplomacy Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to move towards a peace settlement for Ukraine, but that Moscow's main objective was to achieve its goals. The comments came days after United States President Donald Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to agree to a ceasefire or face tougher sanctions. Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged an Italian concert venue to cancel a show with Russian conductor Valery Gergiev's performance, saying it was part of Russian efforts to use 'culture as a tool of propaganda'. Ukraine imposed sanctions on exiled Russian journalist Yulia Latynina, Ukrainian blogger Andrii Serebrianskyi and former Ukrainian lawmakers Natalia Korolevska and Hennadiy Balashov, among others, claiming they had helped spread Russian propaganda, the Kyiv Independent reported. Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, slammed European Union sanctions on India's Nayara Energy refinery as unjustified and illegal, saying the restrictions directly threatened India's energy security.
