UK official: Gaza situation is unbearable

BETHLEHEM — British Foreign Office spokesman Martin Day on Thursday called on Israel to allow Gaza borders to open for exports to ease an unbearable situation in the Strip.

In July, British Prime Minister David Cameron sparked outrage in Israel when he said Israel’s blockade of Gaza had turned the coastal enclave into a “prison camp.” Israeli President Shimon Peres accused Cameron of anti-semistism.

Asked if the response to Cameron’s remarks made him wary of criticizing Israel, Day replied that he would say frankly that the social, economic and political situation in Gaza was unbearable. In an interview with Ma’an Radio, he said the UK welcomed Israel’s decision to allow more goods into Gaza, and hoped it would be fully implemented.

Day said the British government believed settlements were a major obstacle to achieving peace, and that the UK continuously relayed this to Israel. All settlement activity, including in East Jerusalem, contravened international law and should be frozen to create an atmosphere for successful negotiations, he said.

The goal of British Foreign Secretary William Hague’s visit to the region Tuesday was to continue international efforts to restart negotiations between Israel and the PLO, which stalled over Israel’s settlement activity, he said.

The spokesman said the UK was committed to establishing a Palestinian state on 1967 borders with Jerusalem as the capital of both Palestine and Israel.