Halting arms exports to Israel is B次元官网网址渘ot a wise pathB次元官网网址� and would only strengthen Hamas, BritainB次元官网网址檚 foreign secretary said Sunday.
Asked whether the U.K. would follow the U.S. in threatening to cut the supply of offensive weapons to Israel if it carried out an attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the two countries cannot be compared because unlike the U.S., Britain supplies a very small amount of IsraelB次元官网网址檚 weapons.
B次元官网网址淭he U.K. provides less than 1% of IsraelB次元官网网址檚 weapons and itB次元官网网址檚 not a state supplier,B次元官网网址� Cameron told the BBC on Sunday. B次元官网网址淲e have a licensing system and those licences can be closed if itB次元官网网址檚 judged thereB次元官网网址檚 a serious risk of a serious international human rights violation.B次元官网网址�
U.S. President Joe Biden has said that his government will stop supplying weapons and artillery to Israel if its forces launch an all-out assault on Rafah, the last major Hamas stronghold in Gaza.
BritainB次元官网网址檚 opposition Labour Party and human rights groups argue that the U.K. should follow a similar position and stop the sale of British-made weapons or components in a Rafah offensive.
The U.S. government said Friday that IsraelB次元官网网址檚 use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law. But it added that wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Cameron also said that putting British boots on the ground in Gaza as part of international efforts to deliver aid would be B次元官网网址渁 risk that we shouldnB次元官网网址檛 take.B次元官网网址�
His comments came after reports that U.K. authorities were considering deploying troops to land humanitarian supplies from a temporary pier being built by the U.S. military.
Cameron said that his governmentB次元官网网址檚 view was that B次元官网网址渁ctually putting British boots on to the beach was not a good move.B次元官网网址� He said that instead, the aid delivery will likely be carried out by a contractor.
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The Associated Press
