Palestinian prime minister discusses Israeli violations in West Bank with UK foreign secretary

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa discussed Israel's ongoing violations in the occupied West Bank with UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband in a phone call, the Palestinian Prime Minister's Office said Tuesday.

Mustafa and Miliband reviewed the latest political and on-the-ground developments in the Palestinian territories, the statement said.

Mustafa said Palestinians in the West Bank are subjected to daily attacks by Israeli occupation forces and settlers, warning that the violations are fueling escalating tensions and posing a direct threat to the lives of Palestinians, according to the statement.

He stressed that all forms of Israeli settlement activity violate international law and undermine the two-state solution and prospects for peace, reiterating that the international community must take decisive steps and intervene against these violations.

The two also discussed progress in implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2803 on the Gaza Strip, with both sides emphasizing the importance of accelerating the implementation of its second phase.

Mustafa also raised the financial and economic crisis facing the Palestinian government due to Israeli sanctions and its policy of withholding tax funds, saying the revenue crisis has hampered the government's ability to meet its financial obligations.

For his part, Miliband affirmed the UK's support for the Palestinian state in confronting the challenges it faces in Gaza and the West Bank, underscoring the UK's steadfast position in favor of a two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, according to the statement.

Separately, Miliband spoke by phone Tuesday with his Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa'ar, urging Israel to take steps to prevent settler violence in the West Bank and to immediately remove barriers to humanitarian aid delivery into Gaza.

In a post on the US social media platform X, Miliband said he raised the "sharp escalation of settler violence and settlement expansion" as well as the humanitarian situation in Gaza and called on Hamas to "decommission" its weapons and for the Israeli army to withdraw, adding that progress was needed on the 20-point plan.

He said the two also discussed their "vital shared interest in ensuring that we never see a nuclear Iran."