Israel-Hamas war: Border Force teams set up in Egypt to help citizens – if they can leave Gaza

Published

1 year ago

October 27, 2023

admin

Border Force teams are “prepared and ready” to evacuate British citizens trapped in Gaza.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Thursday border officials are pre-positioned in Egypt so that if the Rafah border crossing opens, “we’re ready to get them in and bring them back”.

Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, told Sky News on Friday morning this still needs to be negotiated but the border force teams were there “in preparation”.

She said: “We’ve been in intense discussions with partners in the region, but we want the Border Force to be there to be prepared and ready if and when we can get the hostages out.

“So it’s preparation so that we can be there, so we’ve got everything available if we can get them out.

“But right now we still need to agree that and it still needs to be facilitated.”

‘Calling for a pause’

Asked if she was optimistic the Rafah Crossing could open, she said: “We’re still in the same position, we’re calling for a pause to allow for humanitarian aid in and we’re calling for the safe passage for British national passport holders to get out.”

Mr Sunak said he was pushing for a pause in the fighting between Israel and Hamas to allow aid to reach Palestinians and also create a “safer environment” for UK citizens to leave the bombarded 25-mile strip.

“It is not something we can do immediately but when the moment arises, we’ll be ready to take it quickly,” he said during an event in central London about artificial intelligence.

The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza is the only border point in the territory not controlled by Israel.

Israel has only in recent days agreed to allow aid into Gaza through the crossing, having besieged the Hamas-ruled area to prevent essentials such as water, food and fuel from reaching more than two million Palestinians.

The border crossing into north-east Egypt is likely to be the main exit route for those trapped in Gaza but it is currently closed other than for the aid deliveries – with Cairo reportedly blaming Israeli bombings around the area for it not being open for foreign nationals to pass through.

Backing ceasefire could ‘cross a line’

The government is calling for “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting but has stopped short of backing a ceasefire.

Asked about the difference, Ms Keegan said this morning that “we don’t want to cross that line” of telling Israel it has “anything but the right to defend itself”.

Labour has backed this position despite dozens of its MPs calling for a ceasefire.

Shadow environment secretary Steve Reed has said he understands and empathises with Labour colleagues who disagree with the party’s stance.

However he told Sky News that if the attack Israel suffered had happened in the UK, “our state would have sought to defend ourselves to protect our citizens by dismantling the capability of a terrorist organisation that carried it out, that applies to Israel too, they have the right under international law to do that.”

Israel is conducting air strikes and raids on Gaza in its fightback against Hamas’s assault on October 7 that saw at least 1,400 people, mainly civilians, killed on Israeli soil and hundreds of people taken hostage.

Fewer than five Britons are believed to be among the hostages as officials fear that some of those missing have been killed.

However many more, including the parents-in-law of Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf, are trapped in the territory.

Welfare benefits ‘without delay’

As well as stationing border force officials in Egypt, the government has also announced that British citizens fleeing the conflict will be exempt from residency tests and able to get easier access to benefits and other services after arriving in the UK.

Those fleeing the war in the wider region of Lebanon and the West Bank will also be able to claim universal credit, as well as disability and child benefits, “without delay”, and access social housing and housing assistance if needed.

The government said it would also ensure that money paid under the victims of overseas terrorism compensation scheme would not be counted when working out entitlement to income-related benefits.

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: “We’ve been working quickly to ensure British nationals arriving from Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Lebanon can receive the support and security they need during a time of unspeakable turmoil.

“As the UK continues to step up its response to the fast-moving circumstances in the region, the regulations which come into force today will speed up access to benefits, ensuring those eligible can access the help they need.”

The government said that where arrivals do not have immediate accommodation available, local authorities may provide emergency overnight accommodation before supporting people into more secure accommodation.

Those who meet the exemption will be supported more quickly but it will not impact who local housing authorities should prioritise for social housing, the government said.

Politics

Meticulous planning and soft power: How Starmer secured wins for the UK at Trump meeting

Published

40 mins ago

February 28, 2025

admin

Inside the Oval Office with Donald Trump and Keir Starmer

“Relieved is an understatement”.

That’s how one senior government figure described their mood as the prime minister, his foreign secretary and the Number 10 team left the White House having cemented Sir Keir and President Trump’s personal relationship; secured a commitment to NATO; the prospect of a trade deal that could spare the UK from tariffs and the presidential nod on the Chagos deal.

That gives you a sense of just how much was at stake going into talks with a president that has heaped criticism on many old allies in recent weeks.

That the Starmer-Trump meeting went as well as it did is proof, say those around the prime minister, of how much legwork and meticulous planning has gone into pulling it off.

The work began in opposition with Keir Starmer calling President Trump after the assassination attempt, while his foreign secretary courted vice president JD Vance.

There was the dinner in Trump Tower in September and, ever since then a prime minister who has swerved any personal or public criticism of the president.

When the visit was confirmed, the Number 10 team war-gamed all the possibilities with the prime minister, I’m told, going through all the detail and planning with aides to “make the most of the visit”.

They came out feeling that all the pieces fell into place with wins for the UK on trade and a “special” Keir Starmer coming through talks with President Trump that you could have a positive relationship with President Trump.

There were a few factors that helped the prime minister.

The first was the president’s genuine love for the UK and Sir Keir’s team’s understanding that President Trump is driven by personal relationships.

Get that right and much of the rest falls into place, say those who have seen him up close.

Sir Keir Starmer, the ponderous lawyer, has I’m told also built a genuinely warm relationship with President Trump: “They genuinely like each other and find each other easy to speak to,” is how one observer put it.

Then came the deployment of soft power.

I was in the Oval Office when the prime minister procured a personal letter from his jacket pocket from the King inviting President Trump for a second state visit.

Mr Trump was genuinely delighted as he read the letter, marvelled at King Charles’s signature and pointed out that this was the first time in history that anyone had been afforded such an “incredible” honour.

The prime minister also brought something to the table for a president that loves a deal.

The decision to lift defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 went down extremely well on Capitol Hill with Republicans and signalled to President Trump that the UK was an ally that had heeded his message on defence spending.

There were wins too.

Keir Starmer’s deal to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, where the US has a critical military base, to Mauritius, was backed by President Trump, a hugely welcome moment for a PM who has been heavily criticised about the deal back home.

And when I asked the president about his sharp remarks on EU tariffs – he said the union had been constructed to “screw” the US on trade – he told me he’d been having problems with the EU bit was in a “very different place” with the UK.

“I have a great warm spot for your country,” President Trump told me before the talks.

Afterwards, he told reporters at the press conference in the East Wing of the White House that there was a “very good chance” of a trade deal in which tariffs were not necessary.

Of course, there is a long way to go, but against a backdrop of a president threatening tariffs on a number of countries, that was a big win for the PM.

But if going out of this short visit was a story of trade, going into it was a focus on security guarantees for Ukraine.

Sir Keir said securing a backstop for European peacekeepers in Ukraine is the only way to contain President Putin.

On this, President Trump was rather more noncommittal, stressing that the priority was to do the deal first and that the mineral agreement he is poised to sign with President Zelenskyy on Friday should be deterrent enough.

On Sunday, the PM will host 18 leaders in London to discuss what to do next.

Ultimately, Europe will need to know that the US has its back on Ukraine – the PM didn’t come away from the Trump meeting assured of that yet.

Although, the message for more NATO investment was heard loud and clear again, with an expectation from the British camp that more commitment on defence spending from Europe will be required by President Trump as part of any backstop deal.

What is clear coming out of this meeting is that Sir Keir and the UK could genuinely become the bridge between the US and Europe as the deteriorating relationship between Brussels and Washington offers Sir Keir the opportunity to take the centre stage.

After a bumpy start to his premiership, the prime minister has found in his endeavour on Ukraine, a means to show leadership – and perhaps a way to win doubtful voters back around.

He has managed to find a way with President Trump. Sunday’s summit is his next test as he brings together President Zelenskyy with fellow European leaders to try to hammer out a plan to support any peace deal.

Starmer was an unlikely war footing leader.

But he is finding a way.

Politics

Arizona crypto reserve bills inch closer to law after passing Senate

Published

5 hours ago

February 28, 2025

admin

Arizona crypto reserve bills inch closer to law after passing Senate

Arizona’s Senate has advanced a Bitcoin reserve bill, bringing it to second place behind Utah in a race between US states to get a crypto investment bill approved.

The Arizona Senate passed the Strategic Digital Assets Reserve bill (SB 1373) on its third reading on Feb. 27 with a vote of 17 for and 12 against. It now advances to the state’s House.

The bill, sponsored by Republican Senator Mark Finchem, would create a “Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund” administered by the state treasurer that would consist of money appropriated by the legislature and crypto seized by the state.

The treasurer can’t invest more than 10% of the total fund deposits in any fiscal year but may loan digital assets from the fund to generate returns if it doesn’t increase financial risks to the state.

“[Whether] you like it or not, legislation will happen at the federal level in this order: Stablecoins, Market Structure, and Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” Satoshi Action Fund founder Dennis Porter said in a Feb. 28 X post.

Another Bitcoin reserve bill is also making its way through Arizona’s Senate. The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB 1025), co-sponsored by Republican Senator Wendy Rogers and Representative Jeff Weninger, also passed the Senate’s third reading on Feb. 27 with a vote of 17 for and 11 against.

The Rogers and Weninger-sponsored bill focuses on investment authority for public funds to invest in crypto assets, while the Finchem-sponsored bill establishes a specialized fund for seized digital assets and appropriated funds.

There are currently 18 US states that have crypto reserve bills pending Senate votes, while two — Arizona and Utah — are in the final stages of the approval process.

State crypto investment bills have been rejected in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota and Pennsylvania.

*The status of crypto reserve-related bills. Source:* *Bitcoin Reserve Monitor*

Bitcoin reserve proposals are gaining support across the US thanks to President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto policies.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, has tanked 17% over the past seven days as it struggles to keep gains due to economic uncertainty over Trump’s sweeping incoming tariffs.

Magazine: 3AC-related OX.FUN denies insolvency rumors, Bybit goes to war: Asia Express