British FM ‘concerned’ Iran war taking focus away from Gaza

LONDON: British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper on Tuesday said she was “deeply concerned” that the conflict in the Middle East had shifted focus away from the Gaza peace plan and violence in the West Bank.

“I am particularly concerned at the moment about what is happening in the West Bank. I am also deeply concerned about the Gaza 20-point plan process being kept on track exactly because of the wider conflict in the Middle East,” Cooper told a parliamentary committee.

“I think there is a real deep concern at the moment about what is happening in the West Bank and the scale of settler violence,” she added.

Diplomatic efforts are currently focused on bringing Iran and the United States to the negotiating table following a three-week war sparked by US-Israeli attacks that killed Iran’s supreme leader and roiled the world economy.

“In other circumstances it (Gaza peace, West Bank violence) would have been a huge focus for us all globally, but in the current circumstances there is so much happening that there is a danger of those issues not being focused on sufficiently,” Cooper said.