‘I want to hug my father': Daughter of Palestinian prisoner awaits father's release
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Reuters
19 minutes ago
- Reuters
UK backs future Palestinian statehood but says ceasefire the top priority
LONDON, July 25 (Reuters) - Britain supports eventual recognition of a Palestinian state, but the immediate priority should be alleviating the suffering in Gaza and securing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a British cabinet minister said on Friday. Successive British governments have said they would formally recognise a Palestinian state at the right time, without ever setting a timetable or specifying the conditions for it to happen. "We want Palestinian statehood, we desire it, and we want to make sure the circumstances can exist where that kind of long-term political solution can have the space to evolve," British science and technology minister Peter Kyle told Sky News. "But right now, today, we've got to focus on what will ease the suffering, and it is extreme, unwarranted suffering in Gaza that has to be the priority for us today." His comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron said France intends to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the U.N. General Assembly, a plan that drew strong condemnation from Israel and the United States. In a statement on Thursday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said statehood was the "inalienable right of the Palestinian people", reiterating his call for a ceasefire as a necessary step towards achieving a two-state solution. Speaking during a visit to Australia, foreign minister David Lammy echoed Starmer's ceasefire call and described the situation in Gaza as "indefensible". Gaza health authorities say more than 100 people have died from starvation, most of them in recent weeks. Human rights groups have said mass starvation is spreading even as tonnes of food and other supplies sit untouched just outside the enclave.
The Independent
35 minutes ago
- The Independent
Starmer facing calls to follow suit after Macron says France will recognise Palestinian state
Sir Keir Starmer is facing pressure to immediately recognise Palestine as a state amid growing calls from MPs and a commitment from France. The Prime Minister condemned the 'unspeakable and indefensible' humanitarian conditions in Gaza ahead of an emergency call with German and French leaders on Friday. He also said statehood was the 'inalienable right' of the Palestinian people but maintained that a ceasefire should come first. Sir Keir said: 'I will hold an emergency call with E3 partners tomorrow, where we will discuss what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need, while pulling together all the steps necessary to build a lasting peace.' He will speak to Emmanuel Macron, who has confirmed France will recognise Palestinian statehood, making his country the first G7 nation to do so in a move he said he would formalise at the UN General Assembly in September. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for the UK to follow suit, saying the UK 'should be leading on this, not falling behind'. 'Recognise the independent state of Palestine now and take the lead on securing a two-state solution and a lasting peace,' he said. Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has also called for immediate recognition, while the Trades Union Congress have pushed for formal recognition of Palestine 'not in a year's time or two years' time – but now'. Emily Thornberry, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said most of its members back recognition right away. 'It is the view of the majority of the committee that the UK Government should immediately recognise the state of Palestine, signalling the UK's desire to work urgently towards a two-state solution alongside our allies,' she said. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the Government wants to recognise a Palestinian state 'in contribution to a peace process'. She also told The Times: 'I think there could be multiple benefits. A lot of people would argue that recognition on its own has a symbolic value that could send a strong message to the Israeli government.' Health Secretary Wes Streeting on Tuesday called for recognition of Palestine 'while there's still a state of Palestine left to recognise'. Sir Keir said on Thursday: 'We are clear that statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people. 'A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis,' he said. Charities operating in Gaza have said that Israel's blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing people there towards starvation and warned that they are seeing their own workers and Palestinians 'waste away'. Israel says it allows enough aid into the territory and faults delivery efforts by UN agencies, which say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of security. The Prime Minister said: 'The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible. 'While the situation has been grave for some time, it has reached new depths and continues to worsen. We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe.' He said it is 'hard to see a hopeful future in such dark times' but called again for all sides to engage 'in good faith, and at pace' on a ceasefire and the release of all hostages. 'We strongly support the efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt to secure this,' he said. Sir Keir will meet with Donald Trump during his five-day private trip to Scotland, due to kick off on Friday. US-led peace talks in Qatar have been cut short, the Trump administration's special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday, pointing the finger at Hamas for a 'lack of desire to reach a ceasefire'. The deal under discussion is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Aid supplies would be ramped up and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting truce. Hamas-led militants based in Gaza abducted 251 people in the October 7 attack in 2023 that triggered the war and killed about 1,200 people. Fewer than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.
Spectator
an hour ago
- Spectator
France's decision to recognise Palestine is a mistake
Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will recognise Palestinian statehood. The French president will make his historic proclamation, the first among G7 countries, at the UN General Assembly in September. In a statement on X, Macron said that 'there is no alternative', adding that 'the French people want peace in the Middle East'. Many French people, however, do not want their country to recognise Palestine in the manner Macron intends. A poll last month found that only 22 per cent were in favour of immediate and unconditional recognition; 31 per cent were opposed and 47 per cent would accept recognition once Hamas had laid down its arms and released all the Israeli hostages. Not for the first time, Macron is swimming against the tide of public opinion in France. Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally, condemned what he called a 'hasty decision'. Even some of Macron's centrists MPs disapproved. Caroline Yadan, said it was a 'political, moral and historical mistake'. The left, however, from the Greens to the Communists to the radical la France Insoumise, are delighted. Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of the latter, described the decision as a 'moral victory'. As usual, Macron has sided with the progressive left, as he does on all the major issues of the day: Palestine, mass immigration, assisted dying, law and order and Net Zero. This should surprise no one. 'I am left-wing,' he proclaimed in 2016. 'That is my history.' It also explains why he and Keir Starmer are 'firm friends'. As a consequence, there is growing discontent within Macron's coalition government from those ministers who hail from the right. In May, Macron scolded three of them, Bruno Retailleau, Gerald Darmanin and Sophie Primas, for their failure to toe the party line and for being too 'ambitious'. How ironic. When Macron declared his allegiance to the left in 2016, it was as a justification for launching his own party, En Marche. At the time he was serving as the minister of the economy in Francois Hollande's Socialist government. The left, said Macron, was 'my family' but 'part of my family is afraid of a changing world'. The Socialist party wasn't progressive enough for Macron. So he quit and ran for president, winning the election after the favourite, the conservative Francois Fillon, was brought down by a financial scandal – a scandal many on the right believe was engineered by the deep state. One of Fillon's closest advisors during his ill-fated campaign was Bruno Retailleau, who since September has served in Macron's coalition government as his Minister of the Interior. The pair can't stand the sight of each other. The depth of their mutual disdain was laid bare on Wednesday in an interview with Valeurs actuelles, a conservative magazine not a million miles ideologically from The Spectator, to whom Retailleau also spoke this week. Retailleau was withering in his summation of 'Macronism', saying it will die as soon as the president leaves office in 2027 'because Macronism is neither a political movement nor an ideology: it is essentially based on one man'. It is a cult, in other words, with a leader who demands devotion from his followers. Woe betide those whose faith wavers. Macron has worked his way through 158 ministers since 2017, more than any other president of the Fifth Republic. But will he dare dispense with Retailleau, his most defiant minister to date, the man who declared this week that he doesn't believe in Macronism because it 'fuels powerlessness'? Sack Retailleau and the fragile government would likely come crashing down. The pair were scheduled to have a one-to-one meeting at the Elysee on Thursday morning, but Macron cancelled at the 11th hour and, according to the French media, instructed his prime minister 'to restore discipline among his troops'. A dressing down from Francois Bayrou is unlikely to have much effect on Retailleau. If he has lost respect for the president, why should he retain it for his prime minister, a long-time political ally? The French people appear to have given up on the pair; an opinion poll this week revealed that Bayrou's approval rating is at 18 per cent, one point behind the president's, which is a record low in his eight years in office. Retailleau's dilemma is whether to stay in his post, or to leave and focus on his presidential campaign. He said this week that he wants to achieve a 'union of right-wing voters…in order to win in 2027' because of the very real possibility that a divided right could result in a victory for the left. The left encompasses not just Mélenchon, the Socialists and the Greens but also the progressivism practised by Macron's party. 'Everyone should agree on the failure of progressivism,' explained Retailleau. 'Progressivism has detached the individual from society…it is up to the right to propose a social project that breaks with the principles laid down by the left.' Remaining in government gives Retailleau a platform to address the public, which he did on Thursday. On a visit to a Paris police station, Retailleau pledged his unflinching support to officers across the country who have come under attack from mobs of youths this month. 'On one side, there is the France of heroes, and on the other, the France of bastards, who shoot at our police officers, our gendarmes and our firefighters,' he said. The rhetoric is inflammatory, and honest, but it's not what Emmanuel Macron wants to hear. He is in denial about the disintegration of France, preferring to focus his energy on bringing peace to Gaza and Ukraine. Retailleau's priority is France. He remains in government, he says, because he is 'motivated by a deep conviction: only France's interests matter.' Macron's deep conviction is the EU. That is the fundamental difference between him and Retailleau; one puts France first and other believes Brussels is paramount.
