LONDON (Reuters) – British Foreign Secretary David Cameron is due to visit the Middle East on Thursday and meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement.
Former prime minister Cameron, who was appointed to the foreign policy brief last week, met with counterparts from Arab and Islamic countries in London on Wednesday to discuss the Israel-Hamas conflict.
He has welcomed the agreement between the Israeli government and Hamas to a four-day pause in fighting, calling it a "crucial step" and urging the parties to deliver the deal in full.
Both British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Cameron's predecessor James Cleverly have visited Israel since the conflict began last month.
Earlier, the ministerial committee mandated by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit was headed by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and included his counterparts from Jordan, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, Turkiye, Indonesia and Nigeria, as well as Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
UK Minister of State for Foreign Commonwealth and Development Affairs for Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and the United Nations at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Lord Ahmad also attended the talks.
Today Foreign Secretary @David_Cameron chaired a meeting of Arab and Islamic leaders in London on the situation in Israel and Gaza. The agreement on a humanitarian pause reached last night is an important opportunity to get the hostages out and more aid into Gaza to help the… pic.twitter.com/wP91tN2C7b
— Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) November 22, 2023Cameron emphasised the importance of allowing humanitarian organizations to bring in more fuel so they can carry out lifesaving work unimpeded, including powering hospitals or desalination plants, which supply 80 percent of Gaza’s water.
“The foreign secretary discussed with leaders at the meeting how to reinvigorate diplomatic efforts toward a viable two-state solution, which provides security for both Israelis and Palestinians, and restated the UK’s condemnation of the rise in settler violence in the West Bank,” the FCDO said.
“He committed to continued UK support to prevent wider regional escalation, including in Lebanon and Yemen,” it added.