Britain’s Cameron says Gaza ceasefire crucial but ‘a whole lot of conditions’ to meet

By Panu Wongcha-um

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand (Reuters) – Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Wednesday said it was vital for a pause in fighting between Israel and militant group Hamas to enable the release of hostages in Gaza, but a lot of conditions first needed to be met for a lasting ceasefire.

Speaking to Reuters during a trip to Thailand, Cameron said attacks on Israeli civilians by Hamas last year and its holding of hostages was inhumane, and the only way for the Palestinian people to have a future was with the militant group out of the picture.

“Crucially what we must try to do is to turn that pause into a permanent sustainable ceasefire,” Cameron said in an interview during a visit to a Thai air force base.

“We will only do that if a whole lot of conditions are fulfilled… we’ve got to get Hamas leaders out of Gaza, we have to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure.”

His remarks come as Washington launches a new diplomatic push for a ceasefire in the nearly six-month-old war, to free hostages and bring in food aid to ward off famine in the Palestinian enclave.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit the Middle East this week, where he will meet senior leaders of Egypt and Saudi Arabia to “discuss the right architecture for a lasting peace”, though made no mention of a stop in Israel.

CLOSER TIES

On Wednesday, Cameron signed a document upgrading ties with the Southeast Asian nation to a ‘strategic partnership’, making Britain the first European country to do so, according to a Thai government statement.

Other countries that have a strategic partnership with Thailand include the United States, China, Japan and Australia.

Cameron was in Nakhon Ratchasima in northeastern Thailand inspecting Gripen fighter jets built by Sweden’s Saab in collaboration with British firms.

He hoped Thailand would procure more, in an unspecified deal that he said would be worth 400 million pounds ($508.64 million) to the British economy.

Cameron said Britain wants to expand its engagement with Asia, citing the country’s association with the Australia-led AUKUS security pact and its membership of the Comprehensive and Progresssive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as examples of London’s pivot towards the region.

“We are here to stay. We think it is important for Britain’s prosperity, for our security and partnering with countries like Thailand make sense,” he said

Cameron also said a bloody conflict in military-ruled Myanmar was now a “multifaceted civil war” and there was a need for former colonial ruler Britain, Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN and other countries to step up and help end the fighting.