UK
Lord Cameron set for Israel visit as Rishi Sunak tells Benjamin Netanyahu now is ‘moment for calm heads’
Lord David Cameron is set to visit Israel on Wednesday, a day after Rishi Sunak told the country’s prime minister a “moment for calm heads to prevail” in the wake of Iran’s attack.
The foreign secretary will meet with Benjamin Netanyahu, foreign minister Israel Katz, and possibly war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, during his one-day visit, according to online reports.
One of his main messages will be the implementation of expanded humanitarian aid routes to Gaza, as well as a need to settle tensions with humanitarian aid groups, the Times of Israel reported.
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Cameron urges Israel not to escalate
Senior Palestinian Authority officials are also set to meet Lord Cameron in Ramallah.
It comes after Mr Sunak spoke with the Israeli prime minister Mr Netanyahu in the wake of Iran’s direct attack on Israel, when more than 300 drones and missiles were launched by Tehran.
Israel’s military displays what they say is an Iranian ballistic missile. Pic: Reuters
According to a readout of a phone call between the pair released by Downing Street, Mr Sunak also told Mr Netanyahu that “significant escalation was in no one’s interest and would only deepen insecurity in the Middle East“.
Other key developments in the Middle East include:
• The Israel Defence Forces say they have “struck and eliminated” Hezbollah commander Ismail Yusaf Baz in the Ain Ebel area of Lebanon;
• The US believes Israel’s military is planning a “narrow and limited strike” inside Iran in response, a report says;
• The first pictures of downed Iranian rockets emerged, with the sheer size of them hinting that Iran’s intentions were more than symbolic;
• Russian President Vladimir Putin told the president of Iran he hoped all parties would show restraint and not allow further confrontation.
Mr Sunak told Mr Netanyahu “Iran had badly miscalculated and was increasingly isolated on the global stage, with the G7 coordinating a diplomatic response”.
A Downing Street spokesperson added: “He stressed that significant escalation was in no one’s interest and would only deepen insecurity in the Middle East. This was a moment for calm heads to prevail.”
Mr Sunak went on to say he wants to see “a massive step change in aid access to flood Gaza with vital supplies, including Israel opening up new aid routes as quickly as possible”.
The UK’s calls for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza comes after Lord Cameron accused Israel of delaying assistance getting in.
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Britain also condemned the alleged killing of Israeli teenager Binyamin Achimair in the occupied West Bank.
The foreign office said on Tuesday that the “killings, and subsequent actions, are escalating violence in the Occupied West Bank and the wider region at a critical time”.
It said it is vital that Israeli authorities restore calm and conduct urgent and transparent investigations into all deaths.
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The UN human rights office has also called on Israel’s security forces to immediately end their active participation in and support for attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The Israelis called the death of Mr Achimair a militant attack.
It comes as a senior administration official told CNN that the US has not been given any official information on what Israel’s plan is if they respond to Iran’s attack, but the country appeared to be considering a “narrow and limited strike” inside Iran.
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“We would hope that they would give us some warning so that we’re prepared to protect our personnel, not just military but diplomatic throughout the region,” the administration official told the American broadcaster.
“But there’s no guarantee they will give us a heads-up, and they know when they give us a heads-up we’re likely to again register our objection to whatever they’re about to conduct.”
The official added the US was “confident that there will be de-escalation” if Israel does not respond.