UK to host international summit on Gaza recovery plan | Israel-Gaza war
The UK will host an international summit on the liberation of Gaza, Downing Street said, as Keir Starmer prepared to attend a multinational event in Egypt to finalize a ceasefire in the Palestinian territories.
The prime minister will be among an estimated 20 national leaders, including Donald Trump, who will gather in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday. Starmer said the aim should be to achieve lasting peace after two years of devastating loss of life.
As humanitarian groups prepare to send aid to Gaza, the UK said the £20 million pledged aid will now focus on water, sanitation and hygiene services. Funding will be provided through Unicef, the World Food Program and the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Britain will also host a three-day conference on Monday afternoon, organized by the Foreign Office’s Wilton Park, West Sussex-based agency.
In addition to the Palestinian Authority, representatives from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Germany and Italy will attend the event. Other participants will include the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank, as well as the private sector and development financiers.
In a statement from Downing Street, it was stated that the talks “will also include efforts to support the Palestinian Authority’s own transformation and reform program to ensure that it can support the recovery of Gaza” and that the process will be carried out under Palestinian leadership, but that “Hamas will have absolutely no role”.
In a pre-released comment at the summit in Egypt, Starmer said: “We are determined to seize this opportunity to ensure a lasting peace and a stable, secure future for the whole region.
“Today is the first, very important phase of ending this war, and now we must fully deliver the second phase.
“The UK will support the next phase of negotiations to ensure the peace plan is fully implemented, so people on both sides can rebuild their lives in safety and security.”
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The UK has worked intensively with international partners in recent months to create the momentum that led to President Trump’s peace initiative and to support the ceasefire now in force, but we now need to work with the same intensity and urgency to develop a plan for the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza.
“Gaza is completely devastated. The ceasefire gives us the opportunity not only to urgently increase humanitarian efforts, but also to look to the future of Gaza’s recovery. The rubble must be cleared, infrastructure repaired, health services repaired and homes rebuilt.”
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, education minister Bridget Phillipson said: “We know we need to see a viable Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel. That’s the government’s position. That’s what we want to continue to be involved in delivering and that’s why the prime minister, Keir Starmer, is going to Egypt tomorrow.”
When asked what role Britain played in the ceasefire, he said: “We also have a role, but of course the US role was critical in this. We can all accept that.”
Speaking to the BBC later, shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said: “I think we need to be honest that Britain had no role.”
He added: “I think it’s extraordinary that Keir Starmer is going to Egypt tomorrow when we have so many internal issues to sort out and deal with.”
