Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, says there cannot be talks about post-war Gaza without first finding a solution to today’s crisis and what came before that, Al Jazeera reports.

“It’s a big mistake to talk about the day after. We need to talk about today, about the need for a permanent ceasefire as every day costs dearly,” Zomlot said at the Doha Forum.

The diplomat added that there needs to be a discussion on what was the political situation in Gaza before the war, namely a suffocating blockade imposed on the Strip, the far-right agenda of Netanyahu’s government and settlers’ violence in the occupied West Bank.

“We need to talk to the US and the UK not to mediate, but to recognise the state of Palestine. That would qualify them to be part of the conversation. The recognition of Palestinians’ right to self-determination is a precondition for any international actor to act.”