Labour's plan to recognise Palestine even if Hamas does not release hostages SLAMMED by families of captives
At a Foreign Office meeting, the relatives of
A statement issued by their lawyers Adam Rose and Adam Wagner KC said the conditions for recognising a Palestinian state would be assessed in late-September.
But it added: 'It was made obvious to us at the meeting that, in deciding whether to go ahead with recognition, the release or otherwise of the hostages would play no part in those considerations.'
They warned the UK's new position would not help 'and could even hurt' hostages.
They said PM
It abandons efforts to press both sides, they add.
Sir Keir outlined the route to recognising a Palestinian state this week.
He was met with outrage by hostage families and concern from Jewish community leaders.
Most read in The Sun
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump vowed to 'get people fed' in Gaza after sending envoy Steve Witkoff to tour a US-backed aid site in
Hamas agrees to release 10 hostages as terror group issues ceasefire red lines after Trump pressured Israel to end war
1
Emily Damari, 29, who was held in Gaza and released in January, called the PM's plan a 'moral failure'
Credit: AP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Israeli cabinet may order complete Gaza takeover, despite international pressure for ceasefire
Israel's cabinet could authorise on Tuesday a complete military takeover of Gaza for the first time in two decades, media reported, despite international pressure for a ceasefire to ease appalling conditions in the besieged Palestinian territory. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leaning towards an expanded offensive and taking control of the entire enclave after 22 months of war against militant group Hamas, Israeli Channel 12 reported. A senior Israeli source told Reuters on Monday that more force was an option following the collapse of indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas. Seizing the entire territory would reverse a 2005 decision by Israel to pull settlers and military out of Gaza while retaining control over its borders - a move right-wing parties blame for Hamas gaining power there. It was unclear, however, whether a potential full takeover of Gaza would entail a prolonged occupation or a short-term operation aimed at dismantling Hamas and freeing hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. File Picture: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta Israel's coalition government is regarded as one of the most right-wing in its history, with the cabinet including parties that seek to annex both Gaza and the West Bank and encourage Palestinians to leave their homeland. The country's military has throughout the war pushed back against the idea of Israel trying to fully occupy Gaza and establish military rule there, which would require it to take over long-term governance. The military has also struggled with manpower issues as the war has dragged on, with reservists being repeatedly called up and putting a strain on capabilities. The conflict was triggered by a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, when gunmen stormed the border from Gaza, killing more than 1,200 people and seizing around 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies. Palestinians ride on a truck loaded with food and humanitarian aid as it moves along the Morag corridor near Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, Picture: AP/Mariam Dagga) Israel's military campaign has devastated the tiny, crowded enclave, killing more than 60,000 people according to Palestinian health authorities. It has forced nearly all of Gaza's over 2 million people from their homes and caused what a global hunger monitor called last week an unfolding famine. That has caused widespread international anger and prompted several European countries to say they would recognise a Palestinian state next month if there was no ceasefire. Inside Gaza on Tuesday, Israeli gunfire and strikes killed at least 13 Palestinians, local health authorities said, including five people in a tent in Khan Younis and three aid seekers near Rafah in the south. Tank push Israeli tanks pushed into central Gaza earlier on Tuesday but it was not clear if the move was part of a larger ground offensive. Palestinians living in the last fifth of the territory where Israel has not yet taken military control via ground incursions or orders for civilians to leave said any new move to occupy the area would be catastrophic. "If the tanks pushed through, where would we go, into the sea? This will be like a death sentence to the entire population," said Abu Jehad, a Gaza wood merchant, who asked not to be named in full. A Palestinian official close to the talks and mediation said Israeli threats could be a way to pressure Hamas to make concessions at the negotiation table. "It will only complicate the negotiation further, at the end, the resistance factions will not accept less than an end to the war, and a full withdrawal from Gaza," he told Reuters, asking not to be named. A Palestinian carries a bag containing aid near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution center operated by the US-backed organization, in Netzarim, central Gaza Strip. Picture: AP/Abdel Kareem Hana Israel said it would allow merchants to import goods. A source in Gaza told Reuters some trucks had already entered carrying chocolates and biscuits for a merchant. It is hoped that essential items such as children's milk, fresh meat and fruits, sugar, and rice could be allowed in, which would alleviate scarcity and drive down prices of what is available in the markets. US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said last week he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza. But Israeli officials have also floated ideas including expanding the offensive and annexing parts of Gaza. The failed ceasefire talks in Doha had aimed to clinch agreements on a U.S.-backed proposal for a 60-day truce, during which aid would be flown into Gaza and half of the hostages Hamas is holding would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel. The Israeli military was expected on Tuesday to present alternatives that include extending into areas of Gaza where it has not yet operated, according to two defence officials. - Reuters
The Journal
2 hours ago
- The Journal
Netanyahu to brief Israeli army on next phase of Gaza war plan
ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to update Israel's Gaza war plan, a day before a UN Security Council meeting on the fate of hostages still held in the Palestinian territory. A source in the Prime Minister's Office told The Jerusalem Post that he will seek his cabinet's approval for the full occupation of the Gaza Strip, including operations in areas where hostages are held. Addressing a cabinet meeting with the war well into its 22nd month, Netanyahu told ministers that later in the week he would instruct the military on how 'to achieve the three war objectives we have set'. Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 and the Jerusalem Post quoted officials saying that the 'updated strategy' would be to re-occupy all of Gaza, including areas in Gaza City where the military believes hostages are being held. The cabinet are to meet today to endorse the plan, the reports said. There was no immediate official confirmation, but the Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry denounced what it called a 'leaked' plan and urged the international community to intervene to quash any new military occupation. Netanyahu is facing mounting domestic and international pressure to bring the remaining hostages in Gaza home and allow much more aid into the starving territory. Israel – backed by the United States and Panama – is preparing to convene a UN Security Council meeting today to highlight the fate of the hostages. Netanyahu yesterday reiterated that Israel's three war goals remained 'the defeat of the enemy, the release of our hostages and the promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel'. His statement came after hundreds of retired Israeli security chiefs wrote to US President Donald Trump to urge him to convince Netanyahu to end the war. 'Immediate mortal danger' Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said ahead of the UN meeting that 'the world must put an end to the phenomenon of kidnapping civilians. It must be front and centre on the world stage'. Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. The UN session was called after Palestinian militant groups last week published three videos showing hostages Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David appearing weak and emaciated, causing shock and distress in Israel. Netanyahu said he had asked the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to provide food and medical treatment to the Israeli captives. Hamas's armed wing said it was willing to allow access to the hostages in exchange for opening aid corridors into all of Gaza, where UN-mandated experts have warned famine is unfolding. Advertisement Netanyahu's government has faced repeated accusations by relatives of hostages and other critics that it has not done enough to rescue the captives. 'Netanyahu is leading Israel and the hostages to ruin,' said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group. 'For 22 months, the public has been sold the illusion that military pressure and intense fighting will bring the hostages back. 'The truth must be said: expanding the war endangers the lives of the hostages, who are already in immediate mortal danger.' 'Only through a deal' Mediation efforts led by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have failed to secure a truce. Hundreds of retired Israeli security officials including former heads of intelligence agencies have urged US President Donald Trump to pressure their own government to end the war. 'It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel,' the former officials wrote in an open letter shared with the media yesterday. The war 'is leading the State of Israel to lose its security and identity', said Ami Ayalon, former director of the Shin Bet security service, in a video released to accompany the letter. The letter argued that the Israeli military 'has long accomplished the two objectives that could be achieved by force: dismantling Hamas's military formations and governance'. 'The third, and most important, can only be achieved through a deal: bringing all the hostages home,' it added. 'We are starving' Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed at least 60,933 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which are deemed reliable by the UN. Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli fire yesterday killed at least 19 Palestinians, including nine who were waiting to collect food aid from a site in central Gaza. In Gaza City, Umm Osama Imad was mourning a relative she said was killed while trying to reach an aid distribution point. 'We are starving… He went to bring flour for his family,' she said. 'The flour is stained with blood. We don't want the flour anymore. Enough!' UN rights chief Volker Turk said 'the images of people starving in Gaza are heart-rending and intolerable. That we have reached this stage is an affront to our collective humanity.' He called on Israel to urgently allow aid into the territory, adding that denying it 'may amount to a war crime'. He also described the videos of hostages as 'shocking', calling for the ICRC to be allowed immediate access to them.
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Netanyahu to authorise complete Israeli occupation of Gaza, media reports
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leaning towards an expanded offensive and taking control of the entire enclave after 22 months of war against militant group Hamas, Israeli Channel 12 reported. A senior Israeli source told Reuters on Monday that more force was an option following the collapse of indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas. Seizing the entire territory would reverse a 2005 decision by Israel to pull settlers and military out of Gaza while retaining control over its borders - a move right-wing parties blame for Hamas gaining power there. It was unclear, however, whether a potential full takeover of Gaza would entail a prolonged occupation or a short-term operation aimed at dismantling Hamas and freeing hostages. Israel's coalition government is regarded as one of the most right-wing in its history, with the cabinet including parties that seek to annex both Gaza and the West Bank and encourage Palestinians to leave their homeland. The country's military has throughout the war pushed back against the idea of Israel trying to fully occupy Gaza and establish military rule there, which would require it to take over long-term governance. The military has also struggled with manpower issues as the war has dragged on, with reservists being repeatedly called up and putting a strain on capabilities. The conflict was triggered by a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, when gunmen stormed the border from Gaza, killing more than 1,200 people and seizing around 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies. Israel's military campaign has devastated the tiny, crowded enclave, killing more than 60,000 people according to Palestinian health authorities. It has forced nearly all of Gaza's over 2 million people from their homes and caused what a global hunger monitor called last week an unfolding famine. That has caused widespread international anger and prompted several European countries to say they would recognise a Palestinian state next month if there was no ceasefire. Inside Gaza on Tuesday, Israeli gunfire and strikes killed at least 13 Palestinians, local health authorities said, including five people in a tent in Khan Younis and three aid seekers near Rafah in the south. TANK PUSH Israeli tanks pushed into central Gaza earlier on Tuesday but it was not clear if the move was part of a larger ground offensive. Palestinians living in the last fifth of the territory where Israel has not yet taken military control via ground incursions or orders for civilians to leave said any new move to occupy the area would be catastrophic. "If the tanks pushed through, where would we go, into the sea? This will be like a death sentence to the entire population," said Abu Jehad, a Gaza wood merchant, who asked not to be named in full. A Palestinian official close to the talks and mediation said Israeli threats could be a way to pressure Hamas to make concessions at the negotiation table. "It will only complicate the negotiation further, at the end, the resistance factions will not accept less than an end to the war, and a full withdrawal from Gaza," he told Reuters, asking not to be named. Israel said it would allow merchants to import goods. A source in Gaza told Reuters some trucks had already entered carrying chocolates and biscuits for a merchant. It is hoped that essential items such as children's milk, fresh meat and fruits, sugar, and rice could be allowed in, which would alleviate scarcity and drive down prices of what is available in the markets. US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said last week he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza. But Israeli officials have also floated ideas including expanding the offensive and annexing parts of Gaza. The failed ceasefire talks in Doha had aimed to clinch agreements on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce, during which aid would be flown into Gaza and half of the hostages Hamas is holding would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel. The Israeli military was expected on Tuesday to present alternatives that include extending into areas of Gaza where it has not yet operated, according to two defence officials. A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declined to comment on the report but said that the military has plans in store. "We have different ways to fight the terror organization, and that's what the army does," Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said. On Tuesday, Qatar and Egypt endorsed a declaration by France and Saudi Arabia outlining steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which included a call on Hamas to hand over its arms to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. Hamas has repeatedly said it won't lay down arms. But it has told mediators it was willing to quit governance in Gaza for a non-partisan ruling body, according to three Hamas officials. It insists that the post-war Gaza arrangement must be agreed upon among the Palestinians themselves and not dictated by foreign powers. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar suggested on Monday that the gaps were still too wide to bridge. "We would like to have all our hostages back. We would like to see the end of this war. We always prefer to get there by diplomatic means, if possible. But of course, the big question is, what will be the conditions for the end of the war?" he told journalists in Jerusalem.
