David Cameron asked a parliamentary committee whether Israel was “vulnerable to a challenge” from the ICC.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he was concerned that Israel’s war on Gaza could include violations of international law, and although the advice he had received so far was that Israel complied, there were still questions to answer.
Speaking to the British Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, Cameron said some of what he had seen during the war in the besieged Palestinian territory was “deeply concerning”.
When asked during a question-and-answer session with lawmakers whether Israel might be “vulnerable to a challenge” from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague over the proportionality of its actions, Cameron replied that his position was “close to that.”
Although the former prime minister did not directly answer questions about whether he had received legal advice that Israel may have broken the law, he said some incidents had raised questions about whether there had been violations.
“Am I concerned that Israel may have taken actions that might violate international law because this particular building was bombed, or something else? Yes, of course,” Cameron said.
He added that there was always a “question mark” over whether a given incident broke international law, which lawyers reviewed and advised him on.
“The advice so far has been that they (Israel) have the commitment, the capacity and the respect (for international law), but many times this is called into question,” he said. declared.
The UK has repeatedly reaffirmed its support for Israel and upheld its right to defend itself against Hamas, but has also called on the Israeli military to show restraint and act in accordance with international law in its offensive in Gaza.
The Foreign Affairs Committee is examining the work of the British Foreign Office, to which Cameron was appointed late last year.
During Israel’s continued bombardment of Gaza, at least 23,210 people have been killed, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, and most homes in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed.
Cameron, who sits in the upper house of Parliament as an unelected minister, said it would take “a giant effort” to rebuild Gaza because the level of destruction was so “significant”.
“We are going to need as many people as possible. It will take more than any country to achieve this,” he said.
He also said he had seen figures showing that Hamas fighters had lost “more than 50 percent of their capacity” to fire rockets at Israel.
Amid growing concerns over Gaza’s death toll and the South African genocide case against Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday urged Israeli leaders to avoid future harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure.
