Gaza ceasefire can provide 'path to peace' - PM

Speaking at a press conference following an emergency summit in Egypt on the Gaza crisis, the Prime Minister said that while peace had at times seemed like a “distant prospect” during “three weeks of tragedy” the opportunity to secure a lasting settlement should be siezed upon. The UK will play its part by providing further humanitarian aid to Gaza as well as support to Israel to help prevent Hamas militants from obtaining weapons.

The PM said:

"Too many innocent civilians, including hundreds of children, have been killed during the military offensive…three weeks of tragedy must be followed by immediate action to secure a permanent peace settlement.

"This fragile ceasefire has got to be followed immediately - if it is to be sustainable - by humanitarian access, which we have asked for, by troop withdrawals, by an end to arms trafficking, by an opening-up of the crossings, by the end of rocket attacks."

Mr Brown said that increased aid provision for Gaza would be used to provide food, medicine and shelters, to airlift injured children to hospitals and to clear unexploded ordinance in Gaza.

The summit in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt was co-hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and attended by leaders including Jose Aznar of Spain and Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also took part after spending several days in the region dealing with the crisis.

By The official site of the UK Prime Minister's Office.