LONDON
\nBritain\u2019s support for Israel depends on it abiding by international humanitarian law, foreign minister David Cameron said in a newspaper column on Sunday, days after an Israeli airstrike killed seven aid workers, including three Britons.
\n\u201cOur backing is not unconditional,\u201d Cameron wrote in The Sunday Times. \u201cWe expect such a proud and successful democracy to abide by international humanitarian law, even when challenged.\u201d
\nThe British government has been a staunch ally of Israel since the Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 that triggered Israel\u2019s war to eliminate the militant Islamist group. But Cameron has hardened his language in recent months over the dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave.
\nCameron warned on Sunday of the risk of mass starvation unless Israel allowed more aid. On Saturday, Britain said it would supply a naval vessel to ship aid as part of an international effort.
\nIn a statement on Sunday to mark six months since the initial Hamas attack, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak repeated his call for the Palestinian group to release Israeli hostages and for an immediate pause in fighting.
\n\u201cWe continue to stand by Israel\u2019s right to defeat the threat from Hamas terrorists … but the whole of the UK is shocked by the bloodshed, and appalled by the killing of brave British heroes who were bringing food to those in need,\u201d he said.
\nLegal challenge
\nBritain\u2019s government is also under pressure to publish its latest legal advice about Israel\u2019s conduct of the war in Gaza, which would potentially affect British arms exports.
\nLast week three former Supreme Court justices joined more than 600 members of the British legal profession in calling for the government to halt arms sales to Israel, saying it could make Britain complicit in genocide in Gaza.
\nBritain supplied 42 million pounds ($53 million) of arms to Israel in 2022. In December, the government decided these exports should continue but would be kept under review.
\nCameron said on March 8 that a fresh judgment on that was underway and due in the \u201ccoming days.\u201d
\nDavid Lammy, the opposition Labour Party\u2019s would-be foreign minister, called for the government to publish a summary of its latest legal advice.
\n\u201cI do have very real concerns that our obligations in relation to international humanitarian law and … our export and licensing regime … might have been breached,\u201d he told the BBC.
\nDeputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden told Sky News that the government did not plan to publish legal advice but denied it was giving Israel \u201ccarte blanche.\u201d
\n\u201cOf course, Israel has made mistakes and made big mistakes, and we should hold them to account for that,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s right that we hold Israel to high standards. But I just think there\u2019s a bit of relish from some people about the way in which they are pushing this case against Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON Britain\u2019s support for Israel depends on it abiding by international humanitarian law, foreign minister David Cameron said in a newspaper column on Sunday, days after an Israeli airstrike killed seven aid workers, including three Britons. \u201cOur backing is not unconditional,\u201d Cameron wrote in The Sunday Times. \u201cWe expect such a proud and successful democracy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":399492,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-399483","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n