THE Foreign Secretary has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as pressure mounts on the UK Government to end arms exports to Israel.
On Sunday, David Lammy is meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, on a trip to the Middle East.
He is expected to raise the urgent need for a ceasefire agreed by both sides, which includes the release of all hostages and a rapid increase of aid into Gaza.
As well as making the case for a two-state solution, Lammy is set to announce that the UK will provide another £5.5 million this year to UK-Med to fund its work in Gaza.
The medical aid charity sends experienced humanitarian medics, including those working in the NHS, to crisis-hit regions.
This funding will be used to support the ongoing work of its field hospitals and the emergency department at Nasser Hospital.
Lammy said: “The death and destruction in Gaza is intolerable.
“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.
“I am meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to stress the UK’s ambition and commitment to play its full diplomatic role in securing a ceasefire deal and creating the space for a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.
“The world needs a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.”
He added: “Central to this is to see an end to expanding illegal Israeli settlements and rising settler violence in the West Bank.
“Here, in what should be a crucial part of a Palestinian state, alongside Gaza and East Jerusalem, we need to see a reformed and empowered Palestinian Authority.”
In Israel, Lammy will hold high level talks with Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog to reiterate the need to end the fighting in Gaza.
In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the Foreign Secretary will welcome the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to delivering reform and reiterate the UK’s support for its government.
It’s believed that Israel’s latest strike on Gaza killed at least 90 people in the south of the territory.
The Israelis say the attack was targeted Hamas’ military commander Mohammed Deif, but it was not known whether he was among the dead.
Hermer has previously said that Israel’s siege in Gaza was “very, very difficult to reconcile with obligations of international law – and that is a deliberate understatement.”
The appointment of Hermer led the SNP and Scottish Greens to reaffirm calls for an end to UK arms sales to Israel.
Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now, said it was the duty of the UK Government to try and bring the war to an end.
”This weekend Israel has again targeted camps of displaced people in Gaza, unleashing a wave of killing and destruction.
"So, we are looking for action, not just more words, from the Foreign Secretary.
"It is Britain’s duty under international law to do everything it can to bring these war crimes to an end.
"Lammy must not only restore funding to UNRWA, long overdue, he must send the clearest signal that Israel’s actions are completely unacceptable, and impose an arms embargo immediately.
“International law demands an arms embargo.
The British public overwhelmingly support it. And, at a time when many countries see only double standards from countries like Britain, an arms embargo would go some way to rebuilding the global trust we so desperately need.
"This is not a difficult decision - Lammy must act now.”
