No plans to send UK troops to monitor Gaza ceasefire, says Cooper
No plans to send UK troops to monitor Gaza ceasefire, says Cooper
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has said there are "no plans" to send British troops to be part of a multinational force that will monitor the Gaza ceasefire from Israel.
The first phase of a deal with Hamas that will lead to a ceasefire and the release of hostages has been approved by Israel and has now come into effect, according to its military.
Cooper, who is meeting foreign ministers in Paris, said the UK will continue to support the peace process in other ways, including looking at getting private finance into Gaza.
"This is still a fragile process but it is one there is a huge momentum behind and a huge commitment to, so we have to make it work," she said.
The US is moving up to 200 troops already based in the Middle East to Israel to coordinate what it is calling a civil-military coordination centre in Israel, according to US officials. This is intended to oversee the progress of the ceasefire agreement and to help coordinate humanitarian assistance.
Forces from Arab and Muslim countries, including Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, will also be involved, helping to observe the truce and report any violations. US officials said that no American forces would enter Gaza.
Asked on BBC Breakfast on Friday whether UK troops would be involved, Cooper said: "That's not our plan, there's no plans to do that."
The foreign secretary was also asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent comments in an interview with Euronews, that Europe had "essentially become irrelevant" in ceasefire plans, and said the decision by countries, including the UK, to recognise a Palestinian state had been an "ultimate reward (to) Islamists".
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