UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has once again called for a “sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza, underlining a shift in Britain’s tone on the conflict that increases the pressure on Israel to end its bombardment.
Mr Sunak told reporters in Scotland on Monday that “too many civilian lives have been lost” in Israel’s war against Hamas, which has killed close to 20,000 Gazans. About 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, were also killed in the Hamas attack on October 7th.
“Nobody wants to see this conflict go on a day longer than it has to,” said Mr Sunak, while visiting an RAF base in Lossiemouth, two hours north of Aberdeen.
Until last week Britain’s government had stuck rigidly to the line that Israel had the “right to defend itself” by going after Hamas in Gaza. As the civilian death toll mounted, Britain started calling for “humanitarian pauses” in the conflict, but it still insisted a ceasefire would only embolden Hamas. However, a public shift began last Wednesday at prime minister’s questions in the House of Commons when Mr Sunak responded to criticism of his stance on the war by calling for a “sustainable ceasefire” that also included the release of all hostages, the end of hostilities by Hamas and Israel, and a political pathway to end the conflict.
The change in Britain’s tone was underlined at the weekend when David Cameron, the foreign secretary, wrote an article for the Sunday Times with his German counterpart, Anna Baerbock, in which they both called for a ceasefire, “but only if it is sustainable”. Germany is traditionally among Israel’s strongest backers in Europe.
The shift in tone from the UK’s Conservative government also relieves some of the political pressure on Labour leader Keir Starmer, who held off a significant backbench rebellion last month of MPs who disagreed with his refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire.
Wes Streeting, Labour’s shadow health secretary and one of Mr Starmer’s most senior allies, said at the weekend that he agreed with the government’s new call for a “sustainable ceasefire”. He said Israel’s bombardment was leading to an “intolerable” level of Gazan casualties, while he also called for the immediate release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Mr Streeting’s latest position was in marked difference to his stance of a month ago when he played down the calls for an immediate cessation made by Labour rebels.
Mr Sunak’s subtle shift toward a ceasefire, albeit not the immediate one demanded by other states such as Ireland, follows on from his comments last week in which he appeared to slap down a statement by Israel’s ambassador in London. Tzipi Hotovely had effectively rejected the two-state solution by telling Sky that Palestinians should not get their own state, but Mr Sunak said that he disagreed.
Britain’s former defence secretary Ben Wallace, a former army general and one-time front-runner to take over the top job at Nato, also added to pressure on Israel on Monday by accusing it of being in a “killing rage” in Gaza. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Wallace said Israel had “undermined” its original legal authority of self defence with its actions. “Going after Hamas is legitimate; obliterating vast swathes of Gaza is not,” he said.
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