Arms ban for Israel ‘not a wise path’
HALTING arms exports to Israel is “not a wise path”, the Foreign Secretary has argued, as he said it would be wrong for Israel to launch a fullscale invasion of Rafah “without a plan to protect people”.
Israel has urged residents in more areas of Gaza’s southern-most city to evacuate in a further sign its military is preparing for a ground incursion.
The US has threatened to halt the supply of offensive weapons to Israel if it carries out an attack on Rafah.
Asked whether Britain would follow in America’s footsteps, Lord David Cameron argued the two nations are “in a totally different situation”.
He said: “The United States is a massive, bulk, state supplier of weapons to Israel, including 1,000lb bombs and all the rest of it.
“The UK provides less than 1% of Israel’s weapons and it’s not a state supplier. We have a licensing system and those licences can be closed if it’s judged there’s a serious risk of a serious international human rights violation.”
The Tory peer said he was urged to declare an immediate arms embargo a few months ago, “and the very next thing that happened just a few days later, was a massive Iranian attack on Israel”.
“I don’t think it would have been a wise path, and I still don’t think it would be a wise path,” he said, adding it would only “strengthen Hamas”.
The UK’S arms exports regime would prevent the supply of weapons to Israel if there is a “clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law”, he said.
Asked whether it would be wrong for Israel to carry out a Rafah offensive, the Foreign
Secretary told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “That’s right, without a plan to protect people.
“For there to be a major offensive in Rafah there would have to be an absolutely clear plan about how you save lives, how you move people out the way, how you make sure they’re fed, you make sure that they have medicine and shelter and everything, We have seen no such plan... so we don’t support an offensive in that way.”
Meanwhile Lord Cameron branded Hamas “callous” over a video showing a British-israeli hostage who the militants said had died in Gaza. Yesterday said he could give no updates on the fate of Nadav Popplewell as the Foreign Office investigates what happened. Hamas on Saturday released a statement that the 51-year-old had died after being wounded in an Israeli air strike a month ago.