Cameron backs Hague's criticisms of Israel

David Cameron returned from the first part of his summer holiday today and was interviewed on Radio Five.  He used the opportunity to talk about the A-list and to give strong backing to William Hague's recent criticisms of Israel:

"Elements of the Israeli response were disproportionate and I think it was right to say that and I think the prime minister should have said that.  I don't think it should be seen as an unfair criticism of Israel. It is just a statement of the fact.  Anyone who saw those pictures of the results of the terrible bombing of Qana couldn't, I think, come to any other conclusion than that some elements of the Israeli response were disproportionate.  Britain is a friend of Israel, yes, and a friend of the US, but in both cases, we should be candid friends and we shouldn't be scared of saying to our friends when we think they are making mistakes or doing the wrong thing. We should be clear and we should say so."

Once again David Cameron finds him out-of-step with leaders of the Anglosphere.  The pro-Israeli positions of Tony Blair and George W Bush are well known.  Friday's New York Sun noted that Australia and Canada were also solidly on Israel's side:

"The European Union may refuse to list Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. But when Mr. Howard was asked whether he planned to take Hezbollah off his government's terrorist list, he replied, "No chance, full stop. No chance at all." The Australian reports that "a defiant John Howard has personally told Australian Muslim leaders that the federal Government will not budge on its support for the disarming of Hezbollah" and that the prime minister "rejected demands by the Muslim leaders for the Government to support an immediate and unconditional ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah." A Muslim leader told the paper that Mr. Howard "said in a war like this when the fighters are hiding behind the civilians, then civilians are bound to die."

"In Canada - the El Dorado of America's liberals - the country's leaders have been no less stalwart. The foreign affairs minister, Peter MacKay, called Hezbollah a "cancer" and a "terrorist army" and said the Conservative government believes "it is not a difficult choice between a democratic state that was attacked by terrorists and cold-blooded killers." He told the Commons foreign affairs committee that there "cannot be simply a temporary solution to allow for the rearmament of the terrorist body and simply begin the violence again.  Prime Minister Harper, in remarks that outraged diplomats at the United Nations, called Israel's air strikes a "measured" response to Hezbollah's terrorist attacks. When a Canadian serving as a U.N.peacekeeper was killed, Secretary General Annan immediately accused Israel of deliberately targeting the peacekeeper. Mr. Harper responded that he doubted it was deliberate and instead questioned why the U.N. hadn't withdrawn their peacekeepers beforehand. When seven Canadians were killed by an Israeli air strike Mr. Harper again refused to blame Israel, saying "We are not going to give in to the temptation of some to single out Israel, which was the victim of the initial attack."

Comments

[david]

Has anyone read Melanie Phillip's dairy on her website. The piece on the 14th Of September en-titled, 'The UK's anti-Americans' is a cracker. I think we can safely say she is not a big fan of DC.

[Tam Large]

Dave & Hague are absolutely right on this one. There: I said it. Never thought I would after other debacles. Good to see our leader actually leading, and going against the flow when he thinks it is right to do so.

[Justin Hinchcliffe]

Good on Cameron and Hague!

[RodS]

If this is really Camerons position he has finally lost it. How much evidence is needed that Islam is a culture and ideology that is incompatible with everything most of us believe in. There is an absolute conflict between western liberalism (small L) and , which ever way you slice it, the agressive, violent, millitancy of Islam. Bush is clumsy but right.The Pope is right but has found that any hint of criticism and its 'mass bottoms in the air and burning of effigies'. We in Britain have to live with having a massive Islamic cuckoo in our nest.Meanwhile Israel is the frontline and should be supported. It will be our turn next.

[Justin Hinchcliffe]

Wouldn't say CFI is extremist, but very, very influential. Maybe they have 'dispropotionate' influence? :-)))

[David Clive]

CAMERON AND HAGUE ARE TOTALLY RIGHT. A FRIEND (ISRAEL) CAN MAKE A MISTAKE. WHEN THEY DO, WE SHOULD SPEAK UP. GOOD ON YOU DAVE!

[Cardinal Pirelli]

Anglosphere? It's a pretty meaningless term, yes it 'makes sense' but it has as much relevance to us and our politics as the eurosphere or the blogosphere!

This isn't the first time that sloppy word use has appeared in editorials.

On the subject, I'm happy that the stance I was taking at the time is now seen to be that of the party. In actual fact, of the two main speeches this week the one that gave me pause was the Scottish one, the current system in the UK is unfair and needs a radical rethink.

[Cardinal Pirelli]

Finally managed to wade my way through the comments and good to see that there's a lot of support for Cameron and Hague.

One point on which I may disagree, it wasn't Israel who conned the US into Iraq it was mostly Iraqi exiles such as the conman Ahmed Chalabi. WMD? Connections to Al Qaida? They fell for it hook, line and sinker and Bush and Blair have only themselves to blame for being so credulous.)

[michael mcgough]

David has to appeal to the Block Muslim Vote operators and this will help deliver.The Jewish vote is too small by comparison and votes win elections.But the catch is that Jewish donors provide much dosh to fight the election-----a difficult balancing act,not to be envied.

[Burkean]

This thread has brought out some very unpleasant people. It's quite clear the party NEEDS a Conservative Friends of Israel if this bunch has any influence. I think I'll join it...

[Richard]

The rights and wrongs of Israel's creation (and I don't deny the existence of many wrongs) are irrelevent. That isn't to say we should ignore them and the effects that they had, merely that we shouldn't allow moral judgements on them to influence our policy today. The fact that the Israelis were brutal in the way they drove out the Palestinians should not be allowed to override the more important fact that, at the moment, Israel's existence is of use to us and that it does not suit us to undermine it.

British foreign policy should be dictated by our national interest. If it is in our interest to give 100% support to Israel then we should provide it. If not then we should refrain from doing so.

For all its faults Israel is a bastion of Western civilisation in an area of the world that is culturally backward compared to the West. In my opinion it is in our interests to preserve that bastion because to lose it would be to hand an important psychological victory to the West's enemies. Yet that doesn't mean Israel will be our eternal ally. At the moment it is an assistant of our eternal interest.

[Afleitch]

I am strongly Pro-Israeli; but Israels actions were disproportionate, as were Hezbollah's - it was a whole sorry blown over mess, a foreign policy disaster for Israel because as much as I was willing them to, they did not actually disarm and destroy Hezbollah, they did not reach their intened end goal. If anything it was an own goal. And the comments on here attacking Hague and Cameron are also grossly disproportionate.

[Oliver]

Please tell us, what exactly does a 'hearts and minds campaign' entail, and how will it stop islamic fundamentalists hating the West?

[David Banks]

OH great Thanks DC ( heavy sarcasm.) It was all going so well. But f theres one thing i can't stand its this sort of 'liberal consensus criticism' of Israel. Such a lazy response and one that gives comfort to all the anti Israelis out there.

Thanks DC. Not