Today: 7 August 2025
13 May 2024
3 mins read

‘Banning arms exports to Israel would strengthen Hamas’

Cameron said he did not support an operation in Rafah in the absence of a plan to protect hundreds of thousands of civilians sheltering in the southern border city….reports Asian Lite News

Stopping British arms sales to Israel if it launches a ground assault on Rafah in the Gaza Strip would strengthen Hamas, Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on Sunday.

Israel ordered Palestinians to evacuate more of the southern city on Saturday in an indication it was pressing ahead with its plans for a ground attack, despite US President Joe Biden’s threat to withhold the supply of some weapons if it did so.

Cameron said he did not support an operation in Rafah in the absence of a plan to protect hundreds of thousands of civilians sheltering in the southern border city.

However, Britain was in a “completely different position” to the United States in terms of providing arms to Israel, he said, noting that the less than 1 percent of Israel’s weapons that came from Britain were already controlled by a strict licensing system.

“We could, if we chose to, make a sort of political message and say we are going to take that political step,” he told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.

“The last time I was urged to do that (…), just a few days later there was a brutal attack by Iran on Israel, including 140 cruise missiles,” he added.

Cameron said the “better answer” would be for Hamas, which controls Gaza, to accept a hostage deal.

“Just to simply announce today we’re going to change our whole approach to arms exports rather than go through our careful process, it would strengthen Hamas, it would make a hostage deal less likely, I don’t think it would be the right approach,” he said.

Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 250 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s military response in Gaza has killed close to 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

The UK’s Foreign Office said on Sunday it was investigating a claim by Hamas that a British-Israeli hostage in Gaza had died from injuries sustained in an Israeli airstrike over a month ago.

Nadav Popplewell, 51, was captured along with his mother Channah Peri on Oct. 7 during a border incursion when the Palestinian group launched a surprise attack on Israel.

The Foreign Office said it was actively seeking more information on the matter.

Popplewell’s family has requested media outlets refrain from airing footage released by Hamas, showing him in captivity with visible injuries, the BBC reported.

The UK’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron, speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, confirmed viewing the video but provided no further updates on the investigation.

Cameron said: “We don’t want to say anything until we have better information.”

He described Hamas as “callous” for releasing the video and playing “with the family’s emotions in that way.”

The Foreign Office added that the department’s thoughts “are with his family at this extremely distressing time.” The Israeli military has not issued a statement on the matter.

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas has killed over 34,900 people, the majority of whom are women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel has reported that 128 hostages are unaccounted for.

ALSO READ: UK Govt mulls broader ban on ‘extreme protest groups’

Previous Story

Iran FM Hails Growing Ties with Riyadh

Next Story

Netanyahu calls Colombia’s President an ‘anti-Semite’

Latest from -Top News

China, Pakistan Men Join Russia in War: Zelensky

Ukrainian President said soldiers reported “mercenaries” from China, Pakistan, Central Asia, and Africa fighting in the war, and vowed to respond….reports Asian Lite News Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that “mercenaries”

Gaza Conflict Claims 28 Children a Day

UN experts and more than 150 humanitarian organisations have called for a permanent ceasefire…reports Asian Lite News The United Nations reports that around 28 children are being killed each day in Gaza

US Mulls Terror Tag for Muslim Brotherhood

The US’ plan to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group comes after a bipartisan bill was introduced by Republican Congressman…reports Asian Lite News The US is once again edging closer

Hamas Sets Terms For Disarmament

HAMAS: ‘The resistance and its weapons will not be abandoned until our full national rights are restored, foremost among which is the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state’ Hamas affirmed

Statehood For Palestine

Analysts see the general move as a deliberate push to revive a stagnant peace process long controlled by Israel, Hamas and the United States, all of whom, they say, have shown little
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Iran closely monitors Israeli threats

Sabahifard emphasised that his force is at the highest level

CEASEFIRE IN LIMBO 

Israel’s government said on Sunday morning that its military was