Cameron urges Hamas to accept ‘generous’ deal with Israel to end Gaza conflict

The Foreign Secretary called for the militant group to agree to a ceasefire while speaking at the World Economic Forum for the first time.
Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron waves as he boards his plane in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on the last day of his five day tour of the Central Asia region (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
PA Wire
David Lynch29 April 2024
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Hamas should accept the “generous” ceasefire package which has been put on the table, Lord David Cameron has said amid a push by western leaders to end fighting in Gaza.

The Foreign Secretary called for the militant group to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza while speaking at the World Economic Forum, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the first time.

Lord Cameron claimed it “never pays” to be optimistic in pushing for an end to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, but insisted the group should take the deal being offered.

I hope Hamas do take this deal and frankly all the pressure in the world and all the eyes of the world should be on them today, saying ‘take that deal’

Lord Cameron

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier weighed in, saying Hamas had been presented with an “extraordinarily generous” offer by Israel that he hoped it would accept.

The UK wants to see an immediate pause in the fighting to get more aid in and hostages out of Gaza, then progress towards a permanent and sustainable ceasefire.

Speaking at at the global summit, Lord Cameron said: “I am never optimistic about this, because it never pays to be optimistic on peace in this very difficult situation.

“It does seem to me there is now, let’s be frank, a pretty generous offer of a sustained 40-day ceasefire and the release of potentially thousands of Palestinian prisoners in return for the release of these hostages, who have now been in captivity for over 200 days.

“I hope Hamas do take this deal and frankly all the pressure in the world and all the eyes of the world should be on them today, saying ‘take that deal’. It will bring about this stop in the fighting that we all want to see so badly.”

He added it was important to build this pause in fighting into a “permanent sustained ceasefire” through countries investing in the Palestinian authority, and providing a “proper political horizon” for a two-state solution.

In this moment the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and ceasefire is Hamas

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

But he said this required the release of all Israeli hostages by Hamas and for the militant group’s leadership and infrastructure in Gaza to be dismantled.

The visit to Riyadh is Lord Cameron’s eleventh visit to the Middle East since becoming Foreign Secretary in November.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken also spoke of the need to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas to end the conflict in his appearance in Riyadh.

“Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel and in this moment the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and ceasefire is Hamas.

“They have to decide, and they have to decide quickly. So, we’re looking to that and I’m hopeful that they will make the right decision and we can have a fundamental change in the dynamic,” he told the summit.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 34,000 people, according to local health officials, and left a swathe of destruction across the territory.

It was sparked by Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel in which militants killed around 1,200 people and abducted another 250 hostages.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in