Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband held their first call on Tuesday, discussing the war in Gaza, Iran and bilateral ties.
Sa’ar said he emphasized Jerusalem’s interest in a productive dialogue with Britain and welcomed London’s decision to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
He urged further British action against Hezbollah’s financial institution, Al-Qard Al-Hassan, saying dismantling the terrorist group’s financial infrastructure was essential to preventing further attacks against Israel and Hezbollah’s continued “occupation of Lebanon and the Lebanese people.”
He had “made it clear” that progress on the implementation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan depends on the disarmament of Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza, and “the demilitarization of the Strip,” he said.
Miliband told Sa’ar that Hamas must disarm, the Israel Defense Forces should withdraw from Gaza and “we must see progress” on Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
The foreign secretary also said he raised “the sharp escalation of settler violence and settlement expansion,” as well as Gaza’s humanitarian situation. He called on Israel to “immediately end blockages on aid into Gaza” and reiterated Britain’s commitment to a two-state solution.
Miliband said the two also discussed shared security challenges and agreed on the need “to stamp out the scourge of antisemitism around the world,” adding that they shared an interest in ensuring “that we never see a nuclear Iran.”
