One week before general elections in Britain, British Prime Minister David Cameron said that Israel was right to defend itself ‘’against indiscriminate attacks by terrorist group Hamas during Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip last summer.
“As Prime Minister, putting yourself in the shoes of the Israeli people, who want peace but have to put up with these indiscriminate attacks – that reinforces to me the importance of standing by Israel and Israel’s right to defend itself,” Cameron said in an interview with The Jewish Chronicle.
“I feel very strongly that this equivalence that sometimes people try to draw when these attacks take place is so completely wrong and unfair,’’ he added.
‘’Because Israel is trying defend against indiscriminate attacks, while trying to stop the attackers – and there’s such a difference between that and the nature of the indiscriminate attacks that Israel receives,’’ he said.
"I feel that very clearly. I’ve seen it very clearly as Prime Minister and I think it’s important to speak out about it.’’
"Obviously we regret the loss of life wherever it takes place, but I do think there’s an important difference – as Prime Minister Netanyahu put it: Israel uses its weapons to defend its people and Hamas uses its people to defend its weapons," Cameron said.
He has described himself as "a staunch supporter of Israel" and last year became only the second British Prime Minister to address the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
Following the summer war between Israel and Hamas, Cameron repeatedly condemned the indiscriminate rocket fire by Islamists against Israeli civilians as "barbaric". During the conflict as well, his government made similar statements supporting Israel's "right to self-defense."
In a parliamentary debate in November, he shot down a challenge by an anti-Israel Labor MP to condemn Israel, saying the State of Israel "ticks all the boxes for freedom."
In an interview with The Atlantic published this month, Cameron said there has been an “insidious, creeping attempt to delegitimize the state of Israel,” which he said often pours over into antisemitism. He added that he would be “heartbroken” if Jews in Britain felt the urge to leave their homes because they did not feel safe.
A recent poll shows that stance has earned Cameron's Conservative party overwhelming support from British Jews - with 69% saying they would be voting for the Conservatives in the May 7 elections.
In contrast, despite its leader Ed Miliband himself being Jewish, the left-wing Labor Party has seen a mass exodus of Jewish support due to its increasingly aggressive anti-Israel stance, with just 22% of British Jews saying they would be voting for Labor.