British Prime Minister David Cameron criticised as ‘’genuinely shocking’’ what he called ‘’Israel’s encirclement’ of East Jerusalem’’.

In a response to a question from Labour MP Imran Hussain on Wednesday, Cameron said he was “well known as a strong friend of Israel” but he disagreed with its policies surrounding East Jerusalem.

Hussain, who had recently returned from a trip to the West Bank asked the Prime Minister whether “illegal settlements and constructions are a major roadblock that hinder peaceful negotiations” between Israel and the Palestinians, and what the government would do to stop it.

He also asked what the UK is doing to “stop infringement into Palestinian lives and land”.

In reply to the Bradford East MP, Cameron said during his first visit to Jerusalem he saw “what has happened with the effective encirclement of East Jerusalem, occupied East Jerusalem, and it is genuinely shocking.”

Cameron added, that his government are “supporters of Israel, but we do not support illegal settlements, and we do not support what is happening in East Jerusalem.”

“And it is very important this capital city is maintained in the way it was in the past,” he said.

Cameron's remarks were met with surprise in Jerusalem, writes daily Haaretz. Senior Israeli officials noted that his criticism may have been meant to balance his government's recent decision against boycotts of Israel, the paper said.

According to the guidelines, any boycott decision by a public body in the U.K. must be in line with the foreign policy of the British government.

The new, mandatory instructions, which forbid local boycotts in procurement and the issuing or awarding of tenders, apply to all countries belonging to the World Trade Organization, including Israel.