Today, 22 December 2023, the UK voted in favour of United Nations
Security Council resolution 2720 calling for expanded
humanitarian access in Gaza.
Foreign Secretary said:
It is good news that the UN has come together to back a
resolution to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The UK is doing everything it can to get more aid in,
as I saw when I visited Al
Arish in Egypt, near the border with Gaza, this
week. People across Gaza urgently need food, medicine and
shelter. We have consistently argued for more aid and called on
Israel to open more border crossings.
As well as the need for expanded humanitarian
access, the UN resolution today demands the
immediate and unconditional release of hostages. This is vital.
Crucially, the resolution also calls for steps towards a
sustainable ceasefire. This is an outcome that I advocated for last
week along with the German Foreign Minister and
strongly think is the right approach.
A sustainable ceasefire must mean that Hamas is no longer there,
able to threaten Israel with rocket attacks and other forms of
terrorism.
This resolution repeats so many of the points we have been
making: the importance of complying with international
humanitarian law. The need to reduce civilian casualties and
it also backs a two-state solution that would be the best
long-term guarantee of security and stability for both
Israel and the Palestinian people.
We thank the UAE for their leadership on this resolution.
It has been a difficult process to reach agreement within
the UN but there is
now greater unity and purpose about what needs to happen to
relieve the humanitarian crisis, and to start working towards the
sustainable ceasefire that the British government has argued for.
