LONDON: Britain could take a leading role in helping to disarm Hamas in Gaza, based on its experience of encouraging militant groups in Northern Ireland to lay down their arms, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday.
Starmer told parliament that decommissioning the enclave would be vital if Donald Trump’s ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is to last, the first stage of the US president’s 20-point framework to bring peace to the Palestinian enclave.
Starmer’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, was a chief architect of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement which largely ended three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, working alongside former prime minister Tony Blair, who has been tipped for a role in Gaza.
Three European diplomats also said the Northern Ireland case was being cited as a possible future model for Gaza, although they noted there was no comprehensive plan in place.
“Of course, this is going to be difficult, but it’s vital. It was difficult in Northern Ireland in relation to the IRA (Irish Republican Army), but it was vital,” Starmer said.
“That is why we have said that we stand ready, based on our experience in Northern Ireland, to help with the decommissioning process. I’m not going to pretend that’s easy, but it is extremely important.”
The IRA, an overwhelmingly Catholic group seeking a united Ireland, said in 2005 it would formally end its armed struggle. It refused to dispose of its weapons in public but agreed to the presence of independent monitors, who after three months said it had put its weapons beyond use.
The Northern Ireland peace deal dealt with everything from reform of the police to the early release of paramilitary prisoners, the disarmament of paramilitary groups and the “normalization” of security arrangements.
However, the IRA never governed Northern Ireland, unlike Hamas, which has been in control of Gaza since 2007 and has overseen all sectors of public life.
Powell was in Egypt on Monday for an international summit on Gaza, alongside Starmer. According to the BBC, he was there last week as the negotiations were being finalized.
Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff thanked Powell on X on Monday for his “incredible input and tireless efforts.” In Gaza, Israeli officials have said any final settlement must permanently disarm Hamas. Trump has also said he will establish a “Board of Peace” to oversee the governance of Gaza. He had initially suggested that Blair would serve on that, but he said on Sunday he needed to find out if that was an “acceptable choice to everybody.”
Britain pushes Northern Ireland as model for disarming Gaza
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Britain pushes Northern Ireland as model for disarming Gaza
- Starmer told parliament that decommissioning the enclave would be vital if Donald Trump’s ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is to last
- Three European diplomats also said the Northern Ireland case was being cited as a possible future model for Gaza
Pakistani fighter jet crashes in Jalalabad, pilot captured: Afghan military, police
- Fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban military entered its third day on Saturday
- Pakistan’s strikes on Friday hit Taliban military installations and posts, including in Kabul and Kandahar
JALALABAD: A Pakistani jet has crashed in Jalalabad city and the pilot captured alive, the Afghan military and police said Saturday, with residents telling AFP the man parachuted from the plane before being detained.
"A Pakistani fighter jet was shot down in the sixth district of Jalalabad city, and its pilot was captured alive," police spokesman Tayeb Hammad said.
Wahidullah Mohammadi, spokesman for the military in eastern Afghanistan, confirmed the Pakistani jet was downed by Afghan forces "and the pilot was captured alive".
The AFP journalist heard a jet overhead before blasts from the direction of the airport in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, which sits on the road between Kabul and the Pakistani border.
Fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban military entered its third day on Saturday, following overnight clashes as the international community expressed increasing concern about the conflict and called for urgent talks.
Pakistan’s strikes on Friday hit Taliban military installations and posts, including in Kabul and Kandahar, in one of the deepest Pakistani incursions into its western neighbor in years, officials said.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban of harboring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, who it claims are waging an insurgency inside Pakistan, a charge the Taliban denies.
Pakistan described its actions as a response to cross-border assaults, while Kabul denounced them as a breach of its sovereignty, saying it remained open to dialogue but warned any wider conflict would result in serious consequences.
The fighting has raised the risk of a protracted conflict along the rugged 2,600-kilometer frontier.
Diplomatic efforts gathered pace late on Friday as Afghanistan said its foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, spoke by telephone with Saudi Arabia’s Prince Faisal bin Farhan about reducing tensions and keeping diplomatic channels open.
The European Union called for both sides to de-escalate and engage in dialogue, while the United Nations urged an immediate end to hostilities.
Russia urged both sides to halt the clashes and return to talks, while China said it was deeply concerned and ready to help ease tensions.
The United States supports Pakistan’s right to defend itself against attacks by the Taliban, a State Department spokesperson said.
Border fighting continues
Exchanges of fire continued along the border overnight.
Pakistani security sources said an operation dubbed “Ghazab Lil Haq” was ongoing and that Pakistani forces had destroyed multiple Taliban posts and camps in several sectors. Reuters could not independently verify the claims.
Both sides have reported heavy losses with conflicting tolls that Reuters could not verify. Pakistan said 12 of its soldiers and 274 Taliban were killed while the Taliban said 13 of its fighters and 55 Pakistani soldiers died.
Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said 19 civilians were killed and 26 wounded in Khost and Paktika. Reuters could not verify the claim.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said “our cup of patience has overflowed” and described the fighting as “open war,” warning that Pakistan would respond to further attacks.
Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani said in a speech in Khost province that the conflict “will be very costly,” and that Afghan forces had not deployed broadly beyond those already engaged.
He said the Taliban had defeated “the world, not through technology, but through unity and solidarity,” and through “great patience and perseverance,” rather than superior military power.
Pakistan’s military capabilities far exceed those of Afghanistan, with a standing army of hundreds of thousands and a modern air force.
In stark contrast, the Taliban lacks a conventional air force and relies largely on light weaponry and ground forces.
However, the Islamist group is battle-hardened after two decades of insurgency against US-led forces before returning to power in 2021.
