Sir John Sawyers, a former chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service and former permanent representative of the UK to the United Nations, has been speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today ahead of an expected UN vote calling for some kind of ceasefire.
Sawyers said there has been a change of mood in the UN, which has been brought about "by the continued deaths of Palestinian civilians and of course the tragic shooting of three Israeli hostages by their own side".
Asked whether the UK could have a public difference from the US on the security council, Sawyers recalled the last security council vote on the situation in Gaza - where US vetoed and the UK abstained.
The draft resolution originally called for an "urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities", to allow unhindered access to deliver humanitarian aid to Gazans. But reports say that the language may be watered down to a "suspension" of hostilities, to get US backing.
Sawyers said diplomats drafting the resolution are doing what they can to at least get an American abstention – which would allow it to pass.
Source: BBC
