Cameron blasts ‘genuinely shocking occupation’

“I am well-known as being a strong friend of Israel but I have to say the first time I visited Jerusalem and had a proper tour around that wonderful city and saw what has happened with the effective encirclement of East Jerusalem – occupied East Jerusalem – it is genuinely shocking,” he was quoted by The Independent as having told MPs in the House of Commons.

 

“What this government has consistently done and gone on doing is saying yes, we are supporters of Israel, but we do not support illegal settlements, we do not support what is happening in East Jerusalem and it’s very important that this capital city is maintained in the way that it was in the past,” he added.

 

The Independent noted that in January, Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood condemned the Israeli Government’s decision to commission 450 new homes in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem, at the height of the latest wave of violence.

 

“We urge the Government of Israel to reverse this decision. It is important to focus on steps that are conducive to peace,” he said in a statement at the time.

 

Cameron’s comments come just one day after three British lawmakers from both Cameron’s Conservatives as well as Labour stood up in Parliament and condemned Palestinian incitement, violence and terror tunnels.

 

Ellwood, who just last month condemned Israel, agreed with the three and condemned not only the incitement coming from within the Palestinian Authority (PA), but also the anti-Semitic attacks in Europe as a result.

 

The issue of Israel’s alleged “occupation” recently came up when UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appeared to express sympathy for Palestinian terror attacks against Israelis, claiming the attacks were a result of “Palestinian frustration” over the “occupation”.

 

Read More: Cameron blasts ‘genuinely shocking occupation’ – Europe – News – Arutz Sheva