During a tense talk with MPs about the Middle East conflict, the British Foreign Secretary said that Israel “may have taken action” that violates international law in Gaza.
Lord Cameron also confirmed that two British citizens were still being held hostage by Hamas, during his first appearance before the Foreign Affairs Committee since taking office. A controversial return to government.
Live Politics: Lord David Cameron is 'concerned' that Israel may be violating international law in Gaza
The former Prime Minister was given a peerage in order to take up government office, and because he is not an MP and therefore does not speak in the House of Commons, the committee appearance is the first opportunity MPs have had to examine his new role.
The chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Conservative MP Alicia Cairns, pressed him on whether he had received advice from government lawyers who say Israel is in any way violating international law.
The Foreign Secretary said he “could not remember every piece of paper that was put before me” and it was not his job to make a “legal judgement”.
Ms Cairns, who appeared frustrated, cited previous cases in which foreign regimes were declared to have violated international law.
Lord Cameron eventually said he was “concerned” that Israel might have done so.
He said: “Am I concerned that Israel has taken measures that might violate international law, because this particular building was bombed or something else?
“Yes, of course I'm worried about that.”
This comes as Israel prepares to defend itself before the International Court of Justice in The Hague this week, after South Africa accused it of committing genocide in its war against Hamas.
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The conflict erupted after attacks by Hamas against Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the taking of approximately 240 hostages.
During the November ceasefire, 105 hostages were released.
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“Two Britons still being held hostage in Gaza”
However, Lord Cameron informed the committee that two British nationals remained hostage.
He said, “There are two British citizens who are still hostage. I do not want to make any further comments about them.”
Asked whether it was known whether the two people were still alive, the minister said: “I don’t want to say more. We don’t have any information to share with you.”
Criticism of the intervention in Libya is “nonsense”
Later in the session, Lord Cameron also defended his decision to intervene in Libya during his time as Prime Minister, describing criticism of the action as “nonsense”.
During his time in office, an international coalition led by Britain and France launched a campaign of air and missile strikes against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces in March of that year after the regime threatened to attack the rebel-held city of Benghazi.
A Foreign Affairs Committee report in 2016 described British military intervention in Libya as being based on “faulty assumptions” and an “incomplete understanding” of the rebellion against the former dictator.
He also strongly criticized Lord Cameron for turning limited intervention aimed at protecting civilians into an “opportunistic policy of regime change” based on insufficient intelligence.
The former Conservative Party leader dismissed the report's findings as “nonsense”.
He told MPs: “The idea that you, as prime minister, would launch some action in Libya, on the basis of what… you thought it would be a good idea for no reason. We were really worried that there would be a slaughter.”
“It was right to intervene, it was right to stop Gaddafi from killing his own people. It was right to give this country a chance at a brighter future. They didn't want that help with reconstruction.”
