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Kemi Badenoch’s spokesman refused to condemn proposals by Donald Trump to “take over” Gaza and expel its citizens to other countries in the region, saying that the Conservative party leader wanted to “see more details of what is being proposed”.
In a briefing with journalists, Badenoch’s spokesman refused repeated requests to distance the party from the President’s suggestion that the US would take a “long-term ownership position” of Gaza, after which Palestinians would have “no alternative” but to leave the country.
Pushed by Byline Times to reiterate the Conservative party’s longstanding support for a two-state solution in the Middle East, Badenoch’s spokesman refused, saying “I’m not going to get into that now”.
He also declined the opportunity to repeat UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s insistence that Palestinians “must be allowed home” to Gaza, saying that “I’m not going to get into the geopolitics of Israel”.
UK Government Says Israel Is Not Committed to Following International Human Rights Law
The admission came in a legal statement by Keir Starmer’s Government to the High Court, amid a challenge to the UK’s arms and F-35 exports to Israel
Badenoch’s spokesman’s comments came after Trump’s proposals were widely condemned as being a plan to ‘ethnically cleanse’ Gaza of Palestinians.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer rejected the proposal on Wednesday, telling MPs that Palestinians “must be allowed home”.
“They must be allowed to rebuild, and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two-state solution,” Starmer said.
His spokesman also insisted that the UK Government’s position on backing a two state solution to the conflict “has not changed.”
However, Badenoch’s spokesman would not repeat this assurance, saying she would need to examine details of the proposals first.
“The first priority is to get the remainder of the hostages released, and that should be what our Government and all governments are working towards,” her spokesman told reporters.
“You cannot have a lasting peace until the hostages are released. Then we need to get aid to all those who need it. And after that, let’s see more details of what is being proposed.”
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Pushed by Byline Times on whether the Conservative party remain committed to a two state solution, as previously set out by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in which Palestine and Israel live side-by-side, referring our question to Conservative party headquarters.
Conservative Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel also deflected questions about Trump’s proposal on Wednesday, telling Sky News that “I don’t think we should rush ahead” to the question of what happened to Gaza.
“Those are his comments… but the reality is that they are a world away from where we currently are”.
Patel did suggest that a two state solution “is clearly in the region, where the aspiration is”, but did not re-commit the Conservative party to it.
Asked again whether Trump’s plan amounted to “ethnic cleansing” of Gaza, she replied that “I don’t think we should go there right now”.