David Cameron will tell Israeli cabinet minister Benny Gantz at a meeting in London on Wednesday that Britain’s patience is wearing thin amid a lack of humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza.
The Foreign Secretary said that Israel, as the occupying power, has an obligation under international humanitarian law to provide assistance.
During the six-hour foreign affairs debate, Cameron also laid out new plans for a coalition of like-minded countries to use frozen Russian assets as bonds that Ukraine could use, knowing Moscow would eventually be forced to pay indemnity.
“We face terrible suffering in Gaza,” he said. “I talked a few weeks ago about the danger of this situation leading to famine, and the danger of disease leading to disease. We are now at this stage. People are dying of hunger, people are dying of preventable diseases.
“We have asked the Israelis to do a whole range of things, but I have to report that the amount of aid they received in February was about half of what it was in January,” he added. “So patience needs to run out and a series of warnings need to be issued, starting with my meeting with Minister Gantz tomorrow when he visits the UK.”
Cameron listed a series of demands that the British government has made to Israel, including expanding the type of humanitarian aid that comes into Israel. He said: “Too many items are being sent away because they are considered dual-use items. Some of these items are absolutely necessary for medical and other procedures. We also need to see power and water restored to northern and southern Gaza. “
Cameron issued a direct warning against Israel for violating the rules of war. “Israel is the occupying power. It has a responsibility,” he said. “This has consequences, including how we view Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law.”
He added, “You have to get the Hamas leadership out of Gaza as part of a long-term ceasefire. You have to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure.”
Setting out the UK’s policy on when it would be appropriate to recognize Palestine as a state, Cameron said: “I don’t think that should happen when we start the process because I think it would take all the pressure off the Palestinians to make reforms, But it should not wait until the end. We should not give Israel veto power, which is the effect of current U.S. policy. Endorsement can be part of the unstoppable momentum we need to achieve a two-state solution.”
On the conflict in Ukraine, Cameron said he did not believe seizing frozen Russian assets for the Ukrainian people would be detrimental to the City of London “in any way”. “There’s an opportunity to use something like a syndicated loan or a bond, effectively using frozen Russian assets as security, to get that money to the Ukrainians because we know that when Russia pays compensation, we’re going to get that money back,” he said. ” This might be a better approach. Our goal is to get the G7 and the EU to have maximum unity on this, but if we can’t achieve that, I think we’re going to have to move forward with allies who want to take this action. “
The foreign minister said he did not think Vladimir Putin would stop in Ukraine, saying: “If we allow Russia to achieve any kind of victory in Ukraine, Moldova will be at risk, some of the Baltic states will be at risk.”
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