“An Israeli arms embargo would only strengthen Hamas,” British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in an interview with Sky News on Sunday.

He added that when he came under pressure last month regarding an arms embargo, “a few days later there was a massive Iranian attack on Israel, including 140 cruise missiles. So I don’t think it would have been a wise path.”

“If I announced that today, it might help me get through this television interview, but actually it would strengthen Hamas. It would weaken Israel. I think it probably makes a hostage deal less likely. So I don’t think some sort of political declaration is the right answer. We should stick with our rigorous process of making sure we act within the law.”

Cameron also said that the UK and America “are in a totally different situation.”

“The United States is a massive bulk state supplier of weapons to Israel, including, you know, 1,000-pound bombs and all the rest of it. The UK provides less than 1% of Israel’s weapons and is not a state supplier. We have a licensing system and those licenses can be closed if it’s judged there’s a serious risk of a serious international human rights violation.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)