Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
The Middle East crisis and Israel are at the forefront of the UK Conservative Party leadership race, with contestants setting out their plans to de-escalate the conflict.
It comes as members of the party gathered on Sunday for its annual conference, which is expected to be dominated by the search for a new leader following the resignation of former prime minister Rishi Sunak who stepped down following its election defeat in July.
The four candidates still in the race to replace him will spend the four-day conference in Birmingham speaking to as many party members as possible.
Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, former business secretary Kemi Badenoch, former foreign secretary James Cleverly and former security minister Tom Tugendhat are vying for the leadership position.
On Sunday, the candidates outlined their plans for dealing with the Middle East situation in interviews with Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips.
Mr Cleverly has said Israel must act with “professionalism” and “restraint”.
Asked what message he would send to the Israelis, Mr Cleverly replied: “I would say to them what I’ve said to them already, when I was foreign secretary, when I met with President [Isaac] Herzog, when I met with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, Defence Minister [Yoav] Gallant, I’ve said that you do have the right to defend yourself, absolutely.
“They are surrounded by people who would do them harm, but when they do so, they have to abide by international law. They have to be conscious of civilian casualties. They have to act with professionalism and restraint. So I will be consistent, I’m always consistent.”
Mr Tugendhat said he would urge Iran to stand down its conflict with Israel if he were Tory leader.
-
Liz Truss, who served as prime minister for 44 days in 2022 before she was removed, has now lost her seat in parliament. PA -
Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg has also been defeated. Getty Images -
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer also lost her seat. PA -
Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer. AFP -
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps. AFP -
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan. Reuters -
Penny Mordaunt delivers a speech after the declaration in Portsmouth. Getty Images -
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk. PA -
Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology Michelle Donelan. Getty Images -
Chief Whip Simon Hart. Getty Images
Asked what he would be saying to the UK’s allies in the region, the former security minister instead spoke about Iran.
“I would be saying to Iran that this is no time for escalation, this is no time to be reinforcing your militias in the region and to be threatening democracies and countries around the region,” he said.
“Because the truth is we have seen countries like Jordan, like Israel, suffering under Iranian threats for many years and we have seen countries like Syria and Lebanon destroyed by Iran’s activities in the region over not just a few years but actually over two, three, four decades.”
He said he would work with the UK’s allies to stand up to “Iran’s pernicious influence”.
Mr Jenrick told the presenter that Israel is “doing as much as they reasonably can to try to limit the loss of civilian life”.
“Well, I don’t support everything that Israel is doing, and of course in a war, there will be mistakes made by any military, as indeed ours do in those situations,” he said.
“But I do think that they are doing as much as they reasonably can to try to limit the loss of civilian life.
“You have to remember that Israel is in a unique neighbourhood where it has on each side states that mean to do it harm and it’s important for us to support it in this difficult period.
“The way to end the conflict is obviously for the hostages to be released including the remaining British nationals who are still held in captivity.”
-
David Cameron, the new Prime Minister, and his wife Samantha enter No 10 Downing Street after his meeting with Queen Elizabeth II in May 2010. All photos: Getty Images unless otherwise stated -
Theresa May speaks outside No 10 in July 2016 after assuming office as Prime Minister -
New PM Boris Johnson is welcomed by staff at Downing Street on July 24, 2019 -
Liz Truss poses with her husband Hugh O'Leary at Downing Street on September 6, 2022 after becoming Prime Minister -
Rishi Sunak speaks at Downing after taking office on October 25, 2022 -
Mr Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats hold their first joint press conference in the Downing Street garden in May 2010. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats agreed to lead the country in a coalition government -
Barack Obama and Mr Cameron play table tennis at the Globe Academy in south London during the US President's state visit to Britain in May 2011 -
Mr Cameron talks to British soldiers during a visit to the Camp Price forward operating base in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in December 2012 -
Mr Cameron attends a meeting of G7 leaders in March 2014 in The Hague, Netherlands -
Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani and Mr Cameron speak to the media during the London Conference on Afghanistan in December 2014 -
Mr Cameron and his wife Samantha are applauded by staff upon entering 10 Downing Street as he begins his second term as Prime Minister in May 2015 -
Mr Cameron travels on his campaign bus on the final day of campaigning in June 2016 as the country prepares to go to the polls to decide whether Britain should remain or leave the European Union -
Mr Cameron resigns on the steps of 10 Downing Street on June 24, 2016, after the UK voted to leave the European Union in the national referendum -
Queen Elizabeth welcomes Ms May to an audience where she invited the former home secretary to become Prime Minister and form a new government in July 2016 -
Ms May signs the official letter to European Council President Donald Tusk invoking Article 50 and the United Kingdom's intention to leave the EU, in March 2017 -
Ms May delivers a speech during an election campaign visit to Stoke-on-Trent in June 2017, before Britain went to the polls to vote in a general election -
Ms May delivers a statement at Downing Street in November 2018, after the cabinet approved the wording of the draft Brexit agreement for UK withdrawal from the European Union on March 29, 2019 -
Ms May announces that she will resign as Prime Minister on June 7, 2019 -
Mr Johnson waves from the door of 10 Downing Street on July 24, 2019 -
Mr Johnson poses for a photo wearing boxing gloves emblazoned with 'Get Brexit Done' during a stop in his general election campaign trail in November 2019 -
Pro Brexit supporters celebrate at Parliament Square as the United Kingdom exits the EU on January 31, 2020 -
Mr Johnson speaks during a news conference on the Covid-19 pandemic in December 2020 -
Chief Advisor to Mr Johnson, Dominic Cummings, makes a statement at 10 Downing Street in May 2020 after travelling to Durham during the coronavirus lockdown -
A handout photo released as the Sue Gray Report into lockdown parties in Downing Street was published, shows Mr Johnson at a gathering there in November 2020 -
Mr Johnson poses in a group photo during the G7 Summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, in June 2021 -
British armed forces work with the US military to evacuate eligible civilians and their families out of Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021, after the Taliban took control of the country -
Russian military vehicles crossing a Crimea border checkpoint into Ukraine in February 2022 as the Russian invasion of Ukraine begins. AFP -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Mr Johnson look at a plaque dedicated to Johnson in Kyiv in August 2022 -
A man stands on the steps of the grounded Rwanda deportation flight EC-LZO Boeing 767 at Boscombe Down Air Base, in June 2022. The flight taking asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda was grounded at the last minute after the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights -
Mr Johnson addresses the nation as he announces his resignation outside 10 Downing Street in July 2022 -
Mr Sunak and Ms Truss take part in a leadership debate in Stoke-on-Trent in July 2022 -
Queen Elizabeth greets the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party Ms Truss at Balmoral Castle for an audience where she was invited to become Prime Minister in September 2022 -
Ms Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng visit Northfleet in September 2022, as the Chancellor released his 'mini-budget' that included tax cuts and sent sterling to a 37-year low -
Ms Truss delivers her resignation speech at Downing Street in October 2022, after just 44 days in office -
New Conservative Party leader and incoming Prime Minister Mr Sunak is greeted by colleagues at party headquarters in London in October 2022 -
Mr Sunak on board Border Agency cutter HMC Seeker during a visit to Dover in June 2023, as he gave an update six months after he introduced the Illegal Migration Bill under his plans to "stop the boats" crossing the English Channel -
Mr Sunak makes a statement in the pouring rain, as he called a general election, in May this year
Ms Badenoch said she would be congratulating Benjamin Netanyahu if she were Tory leader, after Lebanese militant group Hezbollah’s leader was killed in an Israeli air strike.
“I would be congratulating Prime Minister Netanyahu. I think what they did was extraordinary,” she said.
“Israel is showing that it has moral clarity in dealing with its enemies and the enemies of the West as well.
“Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation, and I think that being able to remove the leader of Hezbollah as they did will create more peace in the Middle East.”
The candidates will make their final pitches from the conference stage on Wednesday, before Conservative members will eliminate two candidates in a vote the following week.
Party members across the country will then vote to pick a winner, who will be announced November 2.
