BIRMINGHAM, England

The British government announced that it has identified five steps for a sustainable permanent cease-fire without a return to fighting between Israel and Palestine.

Speaking at the House of Commons on Monday, the Foreign Office minister for international development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, said the recommended plan starts with forming a new Palestinian government for the West Bank and Gaza accompanied by an international support package.

He then listed the remaining three points: “Removing Hamas’ capacity to launch attacks against Israel. The release of all Israeli hostages, and the key Hamas leaders agreeing to leave Gaza. All of these things are intricately linked. We cannot secure one without all of the others.”

Mitchell says there are also many other elements to consider such as Arab-Israeli normalization, security guarantees, and financing the rebuilding of Gaza.

“We need to generate momentum now towards a permanent peace and that is why pushing for pause now is so important. And that is why we need a contact group meeting, bringing together the key players as soon as possible.”

Commenting on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Israel to take "all measures within its power" to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, Mitchell said the UK government does not believe Israel's actions in Gaza can be described as genocide.

“Of course, we respect the role and independence of the ICJ. The court has now reached a decision on provisional measures. They call for increased aid into Gaza and measures to ensure basic services as we have been calling for. They have ordered Israel to preserve evidence relating to allegations of genocide, reporting to the court on progress within one month.”