Exclusive

David Cameron calls for UK to sanction two Israeli ministers as change on arms embargo 'didn't satisfy anybody'

16 October 2024, 07:03 | Updated: 16 October 2024, 07:39

Lord Cameron: The ongoing attacks must be addressed for a 'sustainable ceasefire that will last'

By Emma Soteriou

David Cameron has called for the UK to impose sanctions on two Israeli ministers 'pushing for deeply illegal acts'.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Lord Cameron said the change the government made on the arms embargo was a mistake as "it didn't satisfy anybody".

He said people who wanted to see no arms sent to Israel were "still furious" and the Israeli government and their supporters felt they had been "let down" by an ally at a vital time.

An alternative is to sanction ministers who are "recommending and pushing for deeply illegal acts", he said.

"We need diplomacy to play a part alongside what the Israelis have done to try and give Israel the safety and security it deserves, and that's why I think the change the government made on the arms embargo was mistaken," Lord Cameron said.

"It didn't satisfy anybody. The people that want to see no arms sent to Israel are still furious, and the Israeli government and allies of Israel and supporters of Israel are thinking, well, why do you let down an ally at a vital time when they're being attacked, not just by terrorists, but also by an entire state.

"Iran has now launched two of the largest missile attacks in history against the State of Israel, and that's not a time for an ally and a friend to start putting in place an arms embargo.

"And I suggested this morning an alternative, which is look there are ministers in the Israeli government, not Netanyahu, but (Bezalel) Smotrich and (Itamar) Ben-Gvir who have been recommending and pushing for deeply illegal acts like withholding aid from Gaza and supporting violent settlers in the West Bank.

"So why not sanction them? Make a stand about the people in the Israeli government wanting to do unacceptable and illegal things, rather than actually withholding support from Israel at a time when it faces this immense challenge."

Read more: US gives Israel 30-day deadline to improve Gaza's humanitarian situation or risk military aid

Read more: Four Israeli soldiers killed and dozens injured in Hezbollah drone attack on IDF base

Itamar Ben-Gvir
Itamar Ben-Gvir. Picture: Alamy

It comes after the US gave Israel a 30-day deadline to increase the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza or risk losing access to their weapons funding.

The UK has also announced fresh sanctions targeting three illegal settler outposts and four organisations that have supported violence against communities in the West Bank.

Lord Cameron welcomed the sanctions, saying: "What's happened in terms of the violent settlers in the West Bank is unacceptable," he said.

"They've been driving Palestinians off their land. They've been terrorising them, frequently using extreme violence, and sometimes disgracefully, the Israeli army and security forces have stood by and let it happen.

"But I think they're missing the point, which is that while I was Foreign Secretary, working up these broader sanctions on two members of the government.

"Now, I can accept that is a big move to make, a big statement to make, but frankly, these two gentlemen are frequently saying, let's stop the aid going into Gaza and telling people to help, you know, blockade the routes and let's encourage settler violence.

"And those things I think are unacceptable, so I welcome what's been done, but I think they've missed the bigger point, which was the work was ready and it was ready for them to put it into place, and they haven't done it."

Bezalel Smotrich
Bezalel Smotrich. Picture: Alamy

Lord Cameron also defended Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's calls for the UN to move Lebanon peacekeepers "out of harms way".

He said that despite his support for the UN, "we have also to understand the immense pressure on Israel to try and change the situation so their own citizens can go to their homes in the north of Israel".

The former PM explained: "If you think about it, imagine we were in that situation.

"You know that if somehow a part of Britain was unoccupiable because of a terrorist organisation in a neighbouring country, it would be unacceptable. You'd have to take action.

"You'd have to deal with it, and that is what Israel is trying to do. Now, of course, they have to do it proportionately.

"They have to do it within the rule of humanitarian law. They have to try and work with the UN while they're doing it. They can't tell the UN what to do and all the rest of it.

"But I do have a sympathy with those people in Israel who are saying it's unacceptable that our own people can't go to their own homes in our own country."

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Police at the scene of the stand-off in Sheffield

Flats evacuated in Sheffield as armed police confront man ‘with weapons’

d

Fears for Brit tourist Liam Hannigan, 34, missing for three days in Tenerife as desperate family say ‘phone was switched off’

See which countries get aid from the UK as Donald Trump axes US funding overseas.

Where does Britain send foreign aid? See which countries get aid from the UK as Donald Trump axes US funding overseas

A large police presence remains in place

Residents evacuated from Sheffield apartment block amid fears of man 'with weapons' in the building

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

UK 'not expected' to join EU in retaliating against Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium

A bouquet of chrysanthemums with a message, 'Don't be in pain and rest in peace,' is laid at an elementary school in the central city of Daejeon on Feb. 11, 2025.

Teacher admits to stabbing seven-year-old girl to death at school

Motley Crue's Vince Neil

Pilot dies as Motley Crue frontman's jet crashes into plane at Arizona airport

Exclusive
Bridget Phillipson has called for more British apprenticeships

UK must become 'less dependent' on foreign workers by training more British apprentices, minister warns LBC

Labour has deported nearly 19,000 people since coming to power

Inside Labour's deportation flights, as 19,000 illegal migrants removed from UK since July election

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

'No exceptions, no exemptions': Trump brings in 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium as UK dragged into trade war

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

'All hell will break out': Trump says Gaza ceasefire 'should be axed' if Hamas doesn't free all hostages on Saturday

Kim Leadbeater after the bill passed its first reading in November

Assisted dying cases could go ahead without judge's approval

Kanye West

Kanye West slammed for Super Bowl advert directing viewers to site selling swastika t-shirts

Matar is accused of trying to murder Salman Rushdie

Man accused of trying to murder Salman Rushdie says 'Free Palestine' as he is led into court

Legendary strongman Geoff Capes left nearly £240,000 in his will

Legendary strongman and Olympian Geoff Capes leaves £240k in will following death aged 75

The scene in Coulter Road, Hammersmith, west London, following the death of a woman in a flat

Woman, 36, found dead after man seen trying to force his way into flat in west London