LONDON: The UK could expedite recognition of a Palestinian state in a bid to bring peace to the region, Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has said.
Ahead of a visit to the Middle East, he told a reception held by the Conservative Middle East Council in Westminster that the Palestinian people need to see “irreversible progress” toward a two-state solution.
“As that happens, we — with allies — will look at the issue of recognizing a Palestinian state, including at the United Nations,” he told attendees. “That could be one of the things that helps to make this process irreversible.”
He added, though, that recognition would require a new Palestinian government with “technocratic and good leaders” to be “stood up quickly” to bring order to the Gaza Strip.
Last week, Cameron met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem in a bid to get him to consider a two-state solution to resolve the current crisis, but the latter claimed that the plan would “endanger the state of Israel” and called it an “attempt to coerce us.”
Cameron, though, hinted that the UK and others could press ahead regardless of Israel’s stance.
“Together with that, almost most important of all, is to give the Palestinian people a political horizon so that they can see that there’s going to be irreversible progress to a two-state solution and crucially the establishment of a Palestinian state,” he said.
“We have a responsibility there because we should be starting to set out what a Palestinian state would look like, what it would comprise, how it would work and crucially, looking at the issue.”
Progress would be dependent on Hamas releasing all hostages held in Gaza, a guarantee not to attack Israel, and the group’s leadership leaving the Palestinian enclave, Cameron said, adding that it would be “difficult” to achieve but that he remains “hopeful.”
He told the meeting: “There’s a path that we can now see opening up where we really can make progress, not just in ending the conflict, but progress in finding a political solution that can mean peace for years rather than peace for months.”
Cameron added: “That’s the prize we should be looking for, and more than that, not just how you go from pause to sustainable ceasefire, but how you go from there to a set of political moves and arrangements that could start to deliver the longer-term political solution.”
He criticized Israel for failing to provide security to its citizens and for preventing British aid from reaching people in Gaza.
“If the last 30 years tells us anything, it’s a story of failure,” he said. “Ultimately it’s a story of failure for Israel because yes, they had a growing economy, yes they had rising living standards, yes they invested in defense and security and walls and the rest of it, but they couldn’t provide what a state most wants, what every family wants, which is security.
“And so the last 30 years has been a failure, and it’s only by recognizing that failure and recognizing that true peace and progress will come when the benefits of peace and progress are greater than the benefits of returning to fighting.”
Cameron will travel to Oman later this week amid continued clashes in the Red Sea as the Houthis maintain attacks on commercial and military vessels.
The US and UK have kept up missile strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen after a British-linked oil tanker was attacked on Friday.
Meanwhile, fears continue of broader regional escalation after three US troops were killed in Jordan at the weekend in a drone attack conducted by an Iran-backed militia.
“The Houthis continue to attack ships in the Red Sea, risking lives, delaying vital aid getting to the Yemeni people and disrupting global trade,” Cameron said.
“We can’t ignore the risk that the conflict in Gaza spreads, spilling over borders into other countries in the region.
“We’ll do everything we can to make sure that doesn’t happen — escalation and instability is in nobody’s interests. In Gaza, there’s an urgent need for an immediate pause to allow aid in and hostages out.
“We’re determined to do all we can to press for a sustainable ceasefire, and are stepping up our engagement with countries in the region to make sure that happens.”
