New York - British Prime Minister David Cameron said Tuesday that Israel's blockade has made the Gaza Strip a "prison camp."
David Cameron speaking at the Conservative Middle East Council annual Gala Dinner on 10 June 2008 [Photo: Wikimedia Commons]
Cameron was speaking Tuesday during a visit to Turkey, where relations with Israel have been strained since Israeli forces killed nine Turkish activists onboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla on May 31.
Speaking in Ankara, the Prime Minister denounced the attack on the flotilla as ''completely unacceptable'' and restated his call for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver a ''swift, transparent and rigorous'' inquiry.
Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper has more:
But he also urged Turkey not to allow the incident to wreck its relationship with Israel.
Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has severely limited the movement of people and goods since 2007, has sparked outrage in Turkey, which provided the organisers and the bulk of the participants for the flotilla.
Today Mr Cameron said: ''The situation in Gaza has to change. Humanitarian goods and people must flow in both directions.
''Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp.''
And he added: ''The Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla was completely unacceptable.''And I have told PM Netanyahu we will expect the Israeli inquiry to be swift, transparent and rigorous.
Cameron, the leader of Britain's Conservative Party, was elected in May in a close election that resulted in a coalition government that includes the left-leaning Liberal Democrats.
Posted
at
27 Jul 2010 7:05 AM
by
