Britain pushes Northern Ireland as model for disarming Gaza

15/10/2025 6:38

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 U.S. 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.