By Burak Bir
LONDON (AA) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Tuesday that together with its allies, the UK strongly supports a Gaza cease-fire deal proposed by the US to bring an "immediate end to the hostilities."
Sunak's remarks came during his first televised debate with Labour Party leader Keir Starmer on ITV ahead of the general election on July 4 where both answered questions on various issues, including the situation in Gaza and the Rwanda migrant deportation plan.
On Gaza, both politicians were asked what should be done to bring an end to the ongoing humanitarian crisis there.
Starmer said the situation in the Gaza Strip is "intolerable," noting that a cease-fire is needed "straightaway."
“Firstly we need to get the hostages out. They have been held for a very long time. I dread to think what state they are in,” he said, adding: ”We desperately need humanitarian aid into Gaza. It is catastrophic.”
"We have to find a path to a lasting resolution. That has to be a two-state solution."
Sunak described the situation in the besieged enclave as "awful,” adding he was pleased that Starmer joined him in supporting "Israel's right to defend itself."
Expressing support for US President Joe Biden’s proposal for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, he said they back the plan to bring an immediate end to the hostilities, release the hostages, get more aid in and then build towards a lasting settlement with a two-state solution.
"We've led in providing more aid to Gaza, something I'm proud that we've done," he added.
The proposal, as laid out by Biden on Friday, envisions a three-phase agreement that would culminate with a multi-year process to rebuild the badly damaged coastal enclave and the return of all hostages, living and dead, held in Gaza.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
More than 36,500 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and nearly 83,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.
Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
- Rwanda plan
On his controversial migrant deportation plan, called the Rwanda plan, Sunak said small boat crossings via the English Channel were down last year, and they now have a "deterrent ready to go."
"Migrants have been detained, the flights will go in July, but only if I'm your prime minister. If Kier Starmer is elected, all those people will be released, the flights will be canceled, and we will have no deterrent to stop the unfairness of people crossing in boats."
Starmer said that levels of migration are at record highs, pressing Sunak over his comment on the high number of migrants.
"The prime minister says it's too high. But who's in charge? He's the most liberal prime minister we've ever had on immigration. We've never had numbers like this before," he said.
Sunak reiterated his plan on illegal migration and vowed to send those who arrived in Britain illegally to Rwanda and asked Starmer what he would do on this matter.
Starmer said "we need to smash the gangs," adding what he won't do is engage in an "expensive gimmick," referring to the Rwanda plan.
Sunak was then asked what he would do if the European Convention on Human Rights blocked his Rwanda plan and whether he would withdraw the UK from it in that scenario.
"I'm crystal clear, I believe all our plans are compliant with our international obligations, but if I am forced to choose between securing our borders and our country's security, or a foreign court, I'm going to choose our country's security every single time," he said.
The Rwanda plan has already cost the UK £240 million ($306 million) and the total cost is expected to be at least £370 million over five years, according to official data.
The migration policy and especially the government's controversial Rwanda plan is a key issue between the ruling Conservative Party and the main opposition Labour Party during the election campaign for six weeks until the July 4 elections.
After becoming law in late April, the long-debated legislation seeking to send asylum seekers to Rwanda paves the way for the deportation of thousands of asylum seekers in a matter of weeks.
In January last year, Sunak said tackling small boat crossings by irregular migrants across the English Channel was among the five priorities of his government as more than 45,000 migrants arrived in the UK that way in 2022.
A YouGov poll suggested that Sunak won tonight's debate, the first of three planned debates until the election.
In its first major poll of the general election campaign, YouGov predicted a Tory wipeout as numbers suggested that the Labour Party is on course to win 422 seats.