The UK played a key role behind the scenes of the Gaza peace plan, but has no plans to put British troops on the ground, a senior minister has said.
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that Sir Keir Starmer’s presence at a signing ceremony for the ceasefire deal in Egypt on Monday “demonstrates the key role that we have played”.
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She would not say exactly what the UK’s role in the ceasefire, largely attributed to Donald Trump, is or was.
But she added: “We have played a key role behind the scenes in shaping this.
“It’s right that we do so because it’s in all of our interest, including our own national interest, that we move to a lasting peace in the region.
“These are complex matters of diplomacy that we are involved in. But we do welcome and recognise the critical role that the American government played in moving us to this point.”
Number 10 said on Saturday Sir Keir will attend the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, where the peace plan will be signed. He will pay “particular tribute” to Mr Trump.
The US and Israel have said the UK and other countries, such as France, recognising Palestine as a state in September hampered peace efforts.
However, Ms Phillipson stood by the decision, saying it was “the right thing to do”.
On whether the UK is prepared to put British troops into the area as part of a stabilisation force after the ceasefire, she said: “We have no plans to do that.”
The US military will help establish a multinational force in Israel, known as a civil-military coordination centre, which is likely to include troops from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the UAE.
On Friday, US officials said up to 200 US troops already based in the Middle East will be moved to Israel to help monitor the ceasefire in Gaza.
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Final preparations for hostages in Israeli hospital
The day before, President Trump announced Israel and Hamas had “signed off on the first phase” of a peace plan he unveiled last week.
Aid trucks have been gathering in Egypt to cross into Gaza after months of warnings by aid groups of famine in parts of the territory.
In Israel, the remaining hostages are due to be returned from Gaza by Hamas on Monday under the first phase of the peace plan. Twenty are believed to still be alive, 26 have been declared dead, while the fate of two is unknown.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have walked back to Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Pic: AP
The ceasefire agreement has been made two years after Hamas stormed Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which the UN deems reliable.
