'Terrible' Israel-Hamas Conflict 'Must End', Says UK’s Sunak

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak briefs the press upon arrival at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, 18 October 2023. (EPA)
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak briefs the press upon arrival at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, 18 October 2023. (EPA)
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'Terrible' Israel-Hamas Conflict 'Must End', Says UK’s Sunak

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak briefs the press upon arrival at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, 18 October 2023. (EPA)
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak briefs the press upon arrival at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, 18 October 2023. (EPA)

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday said the "terrible" war between Israel and Hamas "must end", six months on from the start of the conflict.

"We continue to stand by Israel's right to defeat the threat from Hamas and defend their security. But the whole of the UK is shocked by the bloodshed," he said in a statement.

"This terrible conflict must end. The hostages must be released. The aid –- which we have been straining every sinew to deliver by land, air and sea -– must be flooded in," he added.

Sunak said the children of Gaza needed a "humanitarian pause immediately, leading to a long-term sustainable ceasefire".

"That is the fastest way to get hostages out and aid in, and to stop the fighting and loss of life.

"For the good of both Israelis and Palestinians -- who all deserve to live in peace, dignity and security -- that is what we will keep working to achieve," he added.

The British government on Friday called for "utmost transparency" and a "wholly independent review" into the killing of seven aid workers in the Gaza Strip.

Three of the seven World Central Kitchen staff who died in an Israeli airstrike on Monday evening were British.

The deaths have also heaped pressure on the UK government to suspend arms export licences to Israel.

According to arms control groups, London has approved more than £487 million ($614 million) of weapons sales to Israel since 2015 in so-called single issue licences.

The British government, meanwhile, said a Royal Navy ship would be deployed to help get more aid into Gaza.

Alongside the deployment, Britain also announced a £9.7 million ($12.25 million) package for aid deliveries, logistical expertise and equipment support for a humanitarian corridor in the eastern Mediterranean between Cyprus and Gaza.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Britain and its allies needed to “explore all options” including sea and air deliveries to “ease the desperate plight of some of the world’s most vulnerable people” in the territory.

har/bc



Palestinian President Abbas Appoints New Deputy in Major Step in Naming Successor

Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)
Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)
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Palestinian President Abbas Appoints New Deputy in Major Step in Naming Successor

Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)
Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday named a veteran aide and confidant as his new vice president. It’s a major step by the aging leader to designate a successor.

The appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh as vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization does not guarantee he will be the next Palestinian president. But it makes him the front-runner among longtime politicians in the dominant Fatah party who hope to succeed the 89-year-old Abbas.

Abbas hopes to play a major role in postwar Gaza. He has been under pressure from Western and Arab allies to rehabilitate the Palestinian Authority, which has limited autonomy in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.  

The PLO is the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people and oversees the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. Abbas has led both entities for two decades.