Rishi Sunak stated that the actions done by Hamas are terrible, and there is no good reason for them. He said this while a large number of people were protesting in central London against Israel’s restriction of movement in the Gaza Strip.
The prime minister came back from a very fast tour of the Middle East where he had urgent discussions with the leaders of Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt about how to stop the situation from getting worse and war from happening.
He emphasized that the fighting between Israel and Hamas could lead to more conflicts in the surrounding area.
The Prime Minister said that everyone they talked to this week strongly believes that we must do everything we can to prevent a spreading conflict in the area.
‘We should continue to aim for a future with peace and stability as we unite against terrorism. ‘
He left just as President Biden announced that President Sisi of Egypt agreed to open the Rafah crossing so that 20 trucks of aid could enter Gaza.
Sunak said that the opening represented what is possible through diplomacy.
He said: ‘The opening of the Rafah crossing into Gaza shows how diplomacy can work, with the US, Israel, and Egypt making an agreement to make sure that essential help gets to the Palestinian people. ‘
We are working closely with Egypt to make sure that the UK helps provide Palestinians with the important things they urgently require, such as food, water, and medicine.
The Prime Minister and the foreign secretary both went on separate trips to Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar at the same time.
James Cleverly said that he wants British people currently stuck in Gaza to be able to leave by using the Rafah crossing. He acknowledged that it is currently not safe for them to do this.
‘At the end, we want the Rafah crossing to be safe enough so that people from other countries in Gaza can go away,’ he said to the Sunday Times.
We will only call British citizens forward to leave Gaza when we are sure they will have enough time to leave safely. But right now, we are not able to do so.
He mentioned that they were working closely with the Egyptian government, Qataris, and other countries in the area, like Israel, to create a stable situation for a considerable period of time. This stability would allow British citizens to have a real chance of leaving the region safely.