A former Middle East minister in the British government fears the ceasefire in Gaza is still “fragile” but welcomes efforts from other countries to join in support of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
Lord Tariq Ahmad urged for “common humanity to prevail” as a coalition led by Egypt forms an international stabilisation force to secure Gaza in the peace plan’s second phase.
The UK needed to “lean in where it can” to make sure the ceasefire lasts, by using its influence with the US and Israel, said Lord Ahmad.
The UK is understood to have contributed to scenarios for the day after the war as Mr Trump drew up his peace plan, earning praise for Prime Minister Keir Starmer's National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell.
“Where the UK does have a role is to see how the access which the likes of Mr. Powell have provided, and the US can be leveraged,” Lord Ahmad told The National.
But he feared the UK had lost influence because of its strained relations with Israel after it recognised a Palestinian state and sanctioned far-right ministers. “We've played well. Sadly, I think we've played less of an effective role than we did previously,” he said during the Oman Investment Forum in London.
He lamented the fact that the UN had failed to bring an end to the two-year war.
“I'm a great believer in the UN system and the multilateralism it brings, but sadly and tragically, it's not had a role, effective role, and other countries have fulfilled it. The UK can also do a part in trying to re-establish the strength of multilateralism,” he said.
His one immediate call was for Israel to allow Turkish specialists into Gaza to pull bodies out of the rubble, including those of hostages.
The 81-member team has been stationed at the Rafah crossing since Friday, awaiting approval to enter Gaza from the Israeli government. They are equipped with search and rescue equipment, search dogs and life detection devices.
Meanwhile, a ceasefire agreement is under strain as Hamas struggles to retrieve the bodies of the remaining hostages from under the rubble.
“Offers of help from countries such as Turkey should be taken up. It can be done in a controlled, measured way, with the security that's required,” Lord Ahmed said.
“It will address the tragedy. I met with lots of hostage families, those who are waiting for their brief ones to come back, the bodies to be returned. It will assist in that.
“I think there needs to be a kind of underlying common humanity needs to prevail on that particular issue,” he said.
The UK’s relationships with the Gulf were also key, as Saudi Arabia seeks to broker a peace plan in Yemen and Oman serves as a neutral mediator for negotiations with the Houthis in Yemen and Iran.
The UK could play a greater role in Yemen by bolstering Saudi Arabia’s efforts at brokering a peace process, and with Oman on back-channel discussions with the Houthis and Iran, Lord Ahmed said.
“We need to leverage those countries who have the greatest influence, as we saw in resolving Gaza,” he said.
Cuts to foreign aid budgets had also weakened the UK’s position on the international stage he said.
Successive Conservative and Labour governments have made cuts to foreign aid budgets, which were cut to 0.5 per cent of GDP during the pandemic, and to 0.3 per cent by the Labour government earlier this year.
“To cut it to the bare minimum of point three provides us, again, with very little leverage in what we can do,” he said.
