UK government supports Trump’s Gaza plan

BIRMINGHAM, England

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his party delegates that his government backs US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end Israel's war on Gaza.

Speaking at the Labour Party Conference on Tuesday afternoon, Starmer said: “I welcome the new US initiative to bring peace to the Middle East. I strongly support efforts to end the fighting, release every hostage, and urgently scale up aid into Gaza.”

Starmer said “all sides must now come together” to bring the initiative into reality.

“We must restart the hope of a two-state solution, a safe and secure Israel alongside the long-promised Palestinian state, a state that this country now recognizes,” he added.

Joining more than 150 countries, the UK has recently officially recognized the state of Palestine ahead of the UN General Assembly.

"Stop these cruel tactics and let the aid surge in," Starmer said while announcing his government’s recognition decision.

Israel has carried out its nearly two-year campaign on Gaza with unwavering diplomatic and military support from the Biden and Trump administrations. That has included the unhindered provision of offensive military equipment, and six uses of the US veto to halt action at the UN Security Council to call for a ceasefire.

Over 66,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children, as the enclave has been largely reduced to rubble, leading to mass displacement, acute shortages of daily necessities, including food and water, and the spread of disease.

The US president's plan envisions transforming Gaza into "a deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors," while ensuring the enclave "will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough," the White House said in a statement.

Under the plan, "if both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end" with Israeli forces withdrawing to agreed positions. During this process, all military operations will be suspended, and the battle lines will be frozen until the necessary conditions for a phased withdrawal are met.