2023-12-17 09:37:00
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock called for a “sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza, but stopped short of demanding an “immediate ceasefire.”
“We must do everything possible to pave the way for a sustainable ceasefire that leads to sustainable peace. The sooner it comes, the better: the need is urgent,” two ministers wrote in a joint article in the UK’s Sunday Times published on Saturday, adding that “too many civilians have been killed.”
In the article, neither Cameron nor Baerbock believe that calling for a “general and immediate ceasefire” is “the way forward.” An immediate ceasefire “ignores why Israel is forced to defend itself,” the politicians added.
“Hamas barbarously attacked Israel and still fires rockets to kill Israeli citizens every day. Hamas must lay down its weapons,” they said.
“Leaving Hamas in power in Gaza would be a permanent obstacle on the path to a two-state solution.”
“An unsustainable ceasefire, which quickly leads to more violence, would only make it more difficult to generate the trust necessary for peace,” they added.
Speaking to CNN during a trip to Washington, DC on December 7, Cameron said: “If we leave Hamas in charge of even part of Gaza, there will never be a two-state solution because Israel cannot be expected to live next door.” of a group of people who want to repeat October 7.”
He had previously resisted calls for an immediate ceasefire.
“We have to give Israel that basic support of saying, ‘You’re right to try to get rid of the Hamas leadership and its armed personnel,'” he said. Cameron said.
Cameron and Baerbock said they are boosting the diplomatic effort to agree further pauses to get more aid and more hostages in, adding that Hamas’s holding of hostages “only delays progress towards peace.”
This Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly voted to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, but both Britain and Germany abstained from the non-binding vote in favor of the ceasefire resolution.
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