“`html
Sir Keir Starmer presented a European-led peace plan for Gaza to Donald Trump during a meeting in Scotland, according to reports.
This follows a call with the leaders of France and Germany over the weekend, after US-led peace talks reportedly broke down last week, according to Downing Street.
An emergency UK cabinet meeting is scheduled for Tuesday to discuss the proposed plans, as well as aid efforts in Gaza, following warnings of potential mass starvation in the region.
The meeting comes amid renewed international and domestic pressure on the prime minister to immediately recognize Palestinian statehood.
Downing Street has withheld details of the peace plan, indicating that the “next steps” will be outlined following this week’s cabinet meeting.
The government’s most senior ministers have been summoned back to Westminster during Parliament’s summer recess for the emergency meeting.
Earlier, a spokesman for Sir Keir stated that the proposals would also be presented to allies, including Arab states, in the coming days.
The prime minister has reportedly likened the plans to a proposed “coalition of the willing” to support a potential deal to end the war in Ukraine.
This development follows the withdrawal of US and Israeli negotiating teams from Qatar on Thursday. Trump stated that Hamas “didn’t really want to make a deal,” while Israel indicated it would explore “alternative options” to secure the release of hostages.
On Monday, Sir Keir’s spokesman stated that the UK, France, and Germany are collaborating on proposals to “deliver immediate relief to those on the ground.”
The plans reportedly “build on the collaboration to date” between the three countries and would also “set out a pathway to peace and a sustainable route to a two-state solution,” the spokesman added.
However, Trump suggested that prioritizing aid to Gaza is his immediate focus before discussing future peace plans.
“Before we get to phase two, which is what’s going to happen afterwards, we want to get the children fed,” he told reporters during his meeting with Sir Keir.
Sir Keir’s spokesman also conveyed to reporters that the Palestinian right to statehood was “inalienable,” and that UK recognition was a “question of when, not if.”
This statement comes after 255 Members of Parliament (MPs) signed a letter calling for the government to immediately recognize Palestine as a state, up from 221 on Friday.
The signatories include 147 Labour MPs, representing more than half of the party’s backbenchers.
The letter was prompted after President Macron announced France’s intention to recognize Palestinian statehood in the coming months.
Labour’s election manifesto included a pledge to recognize a Palestinian state “as a contribution to a renewed peace process which results in a two-state solution with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.”
Most countries, approximately 139 in total, formally recognize a Palestinian state. However, many European nations and the United States maintain that they will only do so as part of a long-term resolution to the conflict.
Spain, Ireland, and Norway formally took the step last year, aiming to exert diplomatic pressure to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.
At the United Nations (UN), Palestinian representatives have limited rights to participate in UN activity, and the territory is also recognized by various international organizations, including the Arab League.
Skeptics contend that recognition would largely be a symbolic gesture unless questions surrounding the leadership and extent of a Palestinian state are addressed first.
During a press conference at Trump Turnberry, both Trump and Sir Keir reportedly agreed on the need for increased aid to Gaza.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that malnutrition in Gaza has reached “alarming levels,” with rates on a “dangerous trajectory,” as aid airdrops resumed in the region.
Britain participated in a weekend aid drop into Gaza, flying supplies in through Jordan as Israel paused its military operations.
Israel announced over the weekend that it would suspend fighting in three areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day and open secure routes for aid delivery.
Prior to his meeting with Trump, Sir Keir described “images of starving children” in Gaza as “revolting.”
At the meeting, both leaders reportedly “agreed that urgent action was needed to bring an end to the suffering” in Gaza, according to Downing Street.
Going into the meeting, Trump suggested that the US would establish new food centers in Gaza without fences, following reports of Palestinians being killed while awaiting food under the current US-led arrangements.
The president attributed the stalled peace talks to Hamas, stating that the group had become “very difficult to deal with” and accusing it of stealing aid from civilians.
Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey cautioned the prime minister against accepting “warm words” from an “unpredictable” US president.
“In both Ukraine and the Middle East the situation is utterly intolerable, and the prime minister needs to work with our allies to put a proper plan in place, so that we can lead even if Donald Trump continues to refuse to act,” Sir Ed said.
The Israeli military initiated a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 59,821 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
The second phase of Donald Trump’s visit to Scotland is underway, shifting from Turnberry on the west coast to Menie in the north east.
Trump’s lawyers argue that Murdoch is 94 and may not be available to testify in person due to “recent significant health scares”.
Donald Trump has struck an agreement with the European Union to reduce tariffs – what will that mean for the UK?
Donald Trump will be hosted by King Charles III in Windsor as part of his state visit in September.
Trump played a round of golf at Turnberry on Saturday while hundreds of protesters gathered in Aberdeen and Edinburgh.
“`