Britain has reportedly warned Israel that it could withhold weapons supplies if the Red Cross is not given access to imprisoned Hamas fighters in Israel.
Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, warned Israeli officials during recent talks that if Israel continues to restrict the access to the prisoners “an arms embargo is declared in Europe as a whole”, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said on Thursday, citing Israeli officials.
It is unclear how Lord Cameron could influence decision-making in the EU that Britain is no longer part of.
It follows reports last month that the British Government was considering withholding arms if Israel invades the Gazan city of Rafah.
Britain reportedly demanded that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) be allowed to visit Hamas prisoners in Israel in line with the Geneva Convention laying down the law in wartime.
Israel claims an exemption to that law on security grounds.
Access to prisoners ‘refused’
Yedioth Ahronoth also reported that a “team of British lawyers” visited Israel earlier this month to examine the predicament and claimed that all prisoners in Israel, including the Hamas suspects, should be allowed a visit by the Red Cross.
Israel Katz, the country’s foreign minister, reportedly sent a letter to Lord Cameron via Israel’s ambassador in London, asking Britain to rally around the State of Israel and not undermine its position amid negotiations for a hostage release and ceasefire with Hamas.
He is said to have told Lord Cameron there is “no room” for steps like restricting weapons supplies at this crucial moment in the negotiations.
Rights groups and Israeli media reported harsh conditions in which Palestinians during Hamas’s raid on Israel are now kept. At least 10 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons since October, in addition to 24 inmates in Israeli Defense Forces’ custody.
Separately, Israel’s National Security Council reportedly held a closed-door meeting on Tuesday to discuss a petition from a prominent Israeli rights group, demanding visits to Hamas detainees. The officials at the meeting reportedly unanimously agreed to refuse access to the prisoners.
The Israeli prime minister’s office and the foreign ministry were not immediately available for comment.