UK condemns settler violence in West Bank, insists on no cease-fire in Gaza

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The UK on Friday condemned increased settler violence in the West Bank, but yet again refrained from calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, where Israeli bombardment since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack has killed over 11,000 Palestinians.

The prime minister’s spokesperson in a press briefing said the UK does not want a truce that could benefit Hamas.

Reiterating the country's position that there is need for a humanitarian pause instead, the spokesperson said the UK agrees with the US that Gaza should ultimately be under the control of the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank.

"Hamas has no place in the future of Gaza," the spokesperson added.

Asked by Anadolu whether the UK joined calls for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch investigation over "Israel committing war crimes in Gaza" the spokesperson said: "It would be for the ICC to set up any terms of any investigation which they want to conduct.

"We continue to call for international humanitarian law to be respected and for civilians to be protected and it isn't for us to designate whether war crimes have taken place."

The spokesperson said the UK supports a negotiated settlement leading to "a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank."

"We strongly condemn settlers the violence against Palestinians," said the spokesperson. "That's something (settler violence in the West Bank) that we've raised directly with our Israeli counterparts and including Prime Minister with PM Netanyahu on the most recent call."