Good morning. Later today, officials from the UK will join talks ahead of a conference next month that could end with participants recognising the state of Palestine. The discussions come at the end of a week in which the UK and its allies in Europe have been more critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza than ever before in the conflict - with new sanctions, measures on trade, and a much harder rhetorical line from foreign secretary David Lammy all part of a coordinated push.
But while all that marks a significant break from the past treatment of Israel, everything announced so far appears to be largely symbolic in nature. And with Benjamin Netanyahu’s two-month blockade barely relieved by a trickle of aid allowed in earlier this week, and urgent warnings that thousands of Palestinian babies could die as a result, many say that the time for a cautiously calibrated diplomatic response is long past.
