Cameron: UK has grave concerns over aid but won’t ban arms to Israel
BRITAIN has “grave concerns” about humanitarian access to Gaza but will not suspend arms exports to Israel, the Foreign Secretary says.
Lord Cameron said he had reviewed the most recent legal advice and this left our position on export licences “unchanged”.
Speaking in Washington at a press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, he said: “This is consistent with the advice that I and other ministers have received, and as ever we will keep the position under review.”
But he added that Israeli promises to “flood Gaza with aid now need to be turned into reality”. The Government has faced increasing pressure on arms exports to Israel following the deaths of three Britons in an air strike that killed seven working for the humanitarian group World Central Kitchen. Lord Cameron said there was a “robust legal process” for assessing the licences, adding the Government would not publish or comment on legal advice but would “act in a way that is consistent with it”.
He said: “We are a Government under the law and that’s as it should be. So far, no likeminded countries have taken the decision to suspend existing arms export licences to Israel, and I’d add that Israel remains a vital defence and security partner to the UK.
“Let me be clear though, we continue to have grave concerns around the humanitarian access issue in Gaza, both for the period that was assessed and subsequently.”
Lord Cameron, who earlier had talks with Donald Trump at the former president’s Florida home, said the UK and US may need to start looking at a “plan B” for the Israel Hamas conflict. He said plan A involves “a temporary pause, we turn that into a sustainable ceasefire, we see Hamas leaders removed from Gaza, we see the terrorist infrastructure taken down. That is the way to have a political process that brings the war to an end.
Proper
“But we have to be aware if that doesn’t work, we have to think about what is plan B, what can humanitarian and other organisations do to make sure that if there is a conflict in Rafah that people can achieve safety, they can get food, they can get water, they can get medicine, and people are kept safe.
“I think that’s something we are going to have to be looking at and we were talking about today.”
Lord Cameron said his talks with Mr Trump were “proper” in the runup to an election and covered “important geopolitical subjects”.
When asked about Mr Trump’s position on Ukraine he said it was a private meeting “so I haven’t really got anything to add”.