LONDON: UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Wednesday met with foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries in London to discuss cooperation on the crisis in Israel and Gaza, how to secure the release of all hostages, increase the amount of aid into Gaza, and reach a long-term political solution to the crisis.
The ministerial committee mandated by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit was headed by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and included his counterparts from Jordan, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, Turkiye, Indonesia and Nigeria, as well as Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
UK Minister of State for Foreign Commonwealth and Development Affairs for Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and the United Nations at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Lord Ahmad also attended the talks.
The visit followed an agreement reached overnight between Israel and Hamas on coordinated hostage releases and a pause in the fighting, the UK’s FCDO said in a statement.
Cameron emphasised the importance of allowing humanitarian organizations to bring in more fuel so they can carry out lifesaving work unimpeded, including powering hospitals or desalination plants, which supply 80 percent of Gaza’s water.
“The foreign secretary discussed with leaders at the meeting how to reinvigorate diplomatic efforts toward a viable two-state solution, which provides security for both Israelis and Palestinians, and restated the UK’s condemnation of the rise in settler violence in the West Bank,” the FCDO said.
“He committed to continued UK support to prevent wider regional escalation, including in Lebanon and Yemen,” it added.
Cameron said: “Today I have chaired a meeting of leaders from Arab countries and other Islamic states on the situation in Israel and Gaza.
“The agreement reached last night is an important opportunity to get the hostages out and more aid into Gaza to help the Palestinian people.
“We discussed how to use this step forward to think about the future and how we can build a peaceful future which provides security for Israel but also peace and stability for the Palestinian people.”
The meeting welcomed the joint mediation efforts of Egypt, Qatar, and the US, which resulted in the truce, the timing of which will be announced within 24 hours and is extendable, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The ministerial committee stressed the importance of the members of the Security Council and the international community taking effective and urgent measures for a complete cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave, saying that this is a priority for all Arab and Islamic countries.
Members of the committee called on Britain to play a balanced role consistent with international law and international humanitarian law to reach an immediate cease-fire and implement all relevant international resolutions, SPA said.
The meeting discussed the need to revive the peace process, and the Arab and Islamic officials stressed the importance of ensuring a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, through the implementation of international resolutions related to the two-state solution, and enabling the Palestinian people to achieve their legitimate rights to establish an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“The members of the ministerial committee called on the international community to assume its responsibility by rejecting all forms of selectivity in the application of international legal and moral standards, and condoning the heinous crimes committed by the occupation forces and settler militias against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” SPA reported.
The delegation, which was formed as a “Peace Committee” at the Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit, held in Riyadh on Nov. 11, is visiting the capitals of UN Security Council permanent members, arriving in London after meetings in Beijing and Moscow, and with further trips planned to Paris and Washington.
The UK has helped lead the international response to the humanitarian crisis by recently announcing £30 million ($37.4 million) in additional aid to the Palestinian territories, more than doubling the aid commitment for this year, the FCDO said.
