UK ministers back Trump plan as Blair is handed role

Former PM's involvement in Israel-Palestine peace process expected to 'raise eyebrows'

Tony Blair has been earmarked to play a key role in US President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza. AP

British ministers have called for support for US President Donald Trump's peace plan in Gaza and backed Tony Blair's high-profile involvement.

Hamish Falconer, the Middle East minister, said there had been progress on resolving the war in recent weeks even though the situation in Gaza continues to be "a scar on our conscience".

"We have had one ceasefire, a short ceasefire while I was in the Middle East,” he said on Tuesday. “This offers the prospect of something more enduring, something that installs Palestinian government into Gaza. We must welcome it. We must work on it and we must make progress to achieve the objectives set out."

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said former prime minister Mr Blair's role would raise eyebrows. Speaking from Labour's annual conference, Mr Streeting said he backed the move, even from the perspective of one who had opposed the Iraq war.

“Now, I know there’ll be some people who look at Tony Blair and his legacy in Iraq and [it] will raise eyebrows, to say the least, about whether he’s the right man to be involved in this," he said. “Tony Blair also had an incredible legacy in Northern Ireland of bringing together sworn enemies to build a peace that has lasted.

“So if he can bring that skill set to bear in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the support of Israelis, Palestinians and other regional powers, then so much the better.”

Those with knowledge of the work Mr Blair has been doing on the issue acknowledge his motivation lies partly in the legacy of Iraq's collapse after the invasion in March 2003. He also has experience of working on the region's politics, having been made Middle East envoy for the Quartet of international powers (the US, the EU, Russia and the UN) after leaving office in 2007.

British Health Secretary Wes Streeting greets Palestinian ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot at the Labour Party conference. Thomas Harding / The National

Sir William Patey, chairman of Labour's Middle East Council, said it was key the process featured the involvement of Palestinians and the backing of regional states.

"It does offer the prospect of an end to the current carnage, of Israeli withdrawal," he said. "It has the backing, and there has been consultation with the major Arab states who will have to play a significant role in bringing security under some international force.

"They will play significant roles in rebuilding Gaza. I think the important thing about the plan is that Palestinians are able to go back to the whole of Gaza."

The proposal relies on acceptance by Hamas of the terms as set out by Mr Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who boasted in Washington overnight that the announcement had isolated Israel's enemy.

Genocide resolution

Meanwhile, the UK government is under intense pressure to call Israel’s actions in Gaza “genocide” after Labour adopted an emergency motion toughening its policy.

Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador, gave an impassioned speech at a fringe event attended by cabinet ministers, urging them to adopt the policy on Monday night.

Mr Zomlot welcomed Britain’s recognition of a Palestinian state but, speaking in front of Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy and Health Secretary Wes Streeting, he urged them to “acknowledge the genocide in Gaza”.

Labour Party members had earlier voted to approve an emergency motion at its conference in Liverpool to accept the UN commission of inquiry, which concluded Israel had “committed genocide” in Gaza. A speech by Chancellor Rachel Reeves was interrupted by a heckler calling for more action on Gaza.

Relations between Britain and Israel are at a nadir and declaring genocide in Gaza could render them irretrievable.

The government may be saved from taking a position following Washington’s moves on Monday to bring about a peace deal with Hamas.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the US initiative was “profoundly welcome” and that he was “grateful for President Trump’s leadership”.

“We are all committed to a collective effort to end the war in Gaza and deliver a sustainable peace, where Palestinians and Israelis can live side by side in safety and security,” he said.

Mr Zomlot said he was deeply grateful for the UK’s formal recognition of Palestine, but it needed “to be followed by, number one, acknowledging the genocide in Gaza", to intense applause at the Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East event in Liverpool.

While Palestinian recognition and the ending of “denial of 108 years of our existence” – since the 1917 Balfour Declaration – have “let us end the denial of genocide”, he said, “it has to become a Labour policy".

UK Chancellor fires back after being heckled by pro-Palestine protester at Labour party conference

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Palestinians were “not just merely surviving, we are not just on the defence against erasure, we are also on the offence to build a better future”. Speaking with emotion, he added: “We want to see our children in playgrounds, in schools, not in graveyards.”

British ministers applauded his remarks on Palestinian recognition but remained silent during his genocide comments. But Mr Lammy responded subtly to the speech, decrying the “unbelievable horrors” of Gaza that “are a stain on the world's conscience, with tens of thousands of innocent women and children killed”.

The famine in Gaza was “not a natural disaster” but “a cruel result of a blockade” and the Israeli military's offensive in the territory was “morally wrong”, Mr Lammy said.