British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper warns the Iran-US conflict is diverting global attention from Gaza’s peace plan and West Bank violence.
LONDON: British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has expressed deep concern that the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States is dangerously diverting international focus from the Gaza peace process and escalating violence in the West Bank.
She told a parliamentary committee that the wider Middle East conflict risks sidelining the critical “Gaza 20-point plan” and the serious issue of settler violence.
“In other circumstances it 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.
Diplomatic efforts are currently concentrated on bringing Iran and the US to negotiations following a three-week war sparked by US-Israeli attacks that killed Iran’s supreme leader.
Cooper emphasised the urgent need to address the situation in the West Bank, where she is “particularly concerned” about the scale of settler violence.
She stated that building broader regional security must include Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon.
The current phase follows a ceasefire negotiated in October by the US, Qatar, and Egypt, which halted two years of war in Gaza.
Washington announced in mid-January it was moving to the second phase of the peace plan, which demands the disarmament of Hamas.
