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Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Thursday indicated that the UK would not follow the United States in warning Israel that it would halt sales of arms that could be used in an assault on the Gaza city of Rafah.
US President Joe Biden has said Washington could cut supplies of weapons if Israel proceeds with an attack on the city, where the UN says some 1.4 million people were sheltering.
But Cameron told reporters following a speech in which he urged NATO partners to boost defense spending that there was "a very fundamental difference" between the UK and the United States.
"The US is a massive state supplier of weapons to Israel," he said.
"We do not have a UK government supply of weapons to Israel, we have a number of licenses, and I think our defense exports to Israel are significantly less than one percent of their total.
"That is a big difference."
Cameron added that UK arms sales would remain subject to "a rigorous process" so they are not complicit in any violations of international humanitarian law.
He also reiterated that the UK would not support a major Israeli operation in Rafah "unless there was a very clear plan for how to protect people and save lives".
"We have not seen that plan, so in the circumstances we will not support a major operation in Rafah," he added.
Israel has already defied international objections by sending in tanks and conducting "targeted raids" in eastern Rafah, which it says is home to the last remaining battalions of Hamas militants.
With AFP
US President Joe Biden has said Washington could cut supplies of weapons if Israel proceeds with an attack on the city, where the UN says some 1.4 million people were sheltering.
But Cameron told reporters following a speech in which he urged NATO partners to boost defense spending that there was "a very fundamental difference" between the UK and the United States.
"The US is a massive state supplier of weapons to Israel," he said.
"We do not have a UK government supply of weapons to Israel, we have a number of licenses, and I think our defense exports to Israel are significantly less than one percent of their total.
"That is a big difference."
Cameron added that UK arms sales would remain subject to "a rigorous process" so they are not complicit in any violations of international humanitarian law.
He also reiterated that the UK would not support a major Israeli operation in Rafah "unless there was a very clear plan for how to protect people and save lives".
"We have not seen that plan, so in the circumstances we will not support a major operation in Rafah," he added.
Israel has already defied international objections by sending in tanks and conducting "targeted raids" in eastern Rafah, which it says is home to the last remaining battalions of Hamas militants.
With AFP
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