UK urges Israel to crack down on violence in West Bank, ‘immediately end’ blockages on Gaza aid

Britain on Tuesday urged Israel to take necessary steps to prevent occupiers’ violence in the occupied West Bank and to “immediately end” blockages on Gaza aid.

In a phone call with Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the UK government believes in “open and honest dialogue” and has a fundamental commitment to a two-state solution, with a safe and secure state of Israel and a Palestinian state.

In a post on US social media platform X, Miliband said that he raised the “sharp escalation of settler violence and settlement expansion,” as well as the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

“I said Israel must crack down on violence in the West Bank, and must immediately end blockages on aid into Gaza,” he noted.

Miliband also said Hamas “must decommission” its weapons, the Israeli army “should withdraw,” and that there must be progress on the 20-point plan.

The foreign secretary added that they also discussed their “vital shared interest in ensuring that we never see a nuclear Iran.”