Britain is “actively working on an international peace plan” for Gaza under which it will recognise Palestinian statehood as part of the process, No 10 Downing Street has confirmed.
Government sources have also confirmed Jonathan Powell, the National Security Adviser, has been involved in the “plan for peace”, working with several other countries.
There have been reports that the UK would immediately recognise Palestine as a country, as soon as Prime Minister Keir Starmer recalled his cabinet for an emergency meeting.
However, his official spokesman has played down suggestions that the cabinet meeting, potentially on Tuesday, would lead to an announcement on Palestine.
“Out of the cabinet meeting we can expect more actions and next steps,” he said. “We are putting forward a plan for peace.”
That proposal will be thrashed out with Germany and France, whose leaders Mr Starmer has been in close contact with in recent days. It will also be raised with US President Donald Trump during his meeting with the Prime Minister in Scotland on Monday and co-ordinated with Arab states.
The aim is to transition from a ceasefire to a sustainable two-state solution, with the recognition of a Palestinian state “being a key step”, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said. “There has to be sustainable and lasting peace, and recognition has to be on the path to peace."
Some members of the cabinet have already come out in support of recognition including Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. They have, it is reported, requested the government follows France’s lead in stating that it will recognise Palestinian statehood.
The cabinet meeting will focus specifically on Gaza and Mr Starmer may yet consider a change in Britain’s position on Palestine if he comes under significant pressure from his cabinet.
The UK leader has previously insisted that UK recognition of Palestine was a question of “when, not if” and would be part of formal steps towards a two-state solution as well as a co-ordinated international move.
But with France's unilateral declaration that it would recognise Palestine, becoming the 148th country to do so, Britain’s co-ordinated approach had been looking tenuous.
Further pressure will mount on Downing Street on Monday as the UN holds a joint conference on a two-state solution hosted by France and Saudi Arabia on Palestine, with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy attending. He is understood to have privately urged the Prime Minster to recognise Palestine.
The mounting horror at the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where people are now starving, has given further impetus to the recognition lobby. The number of MPs who have signed a cross-party letter demanding recognition has increased from 221 to 255.
“It’s a question of when we do that as part of a process,” said James Murray, a Treasury minister. But he added that recognition would have to “galvanise change” because despite many countries having already announced the move “people are still suffering desperately in Gaza”.
Those in the pro-Israel lobby have criticised the proposal for being “symbolic” and rewarding Hamas for the October 7 attacks.
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Asian Cup 2019
Quarter-final
UAE v Australia, Friday, 8pm, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
