BBC News reports:

Lord Cameron has warned Israel that it will never be secure unless there is “long-term safety, security and stability” for the Palestinian people.

In his first full interview as foreign secretary, he welcomed Friday’s pause in the fighting to get hostages out of Gaza and humanitarian aid in.

But he told the BBC that civilian casualties in Gaza were too high.

He also said that Israeli forces must abide by international humanitarian law.

Lord Cameron urged Israel to crack down on what he called “completely unacceptable” violence by settlers in the occupied West Bank.

It was important for Israel to realise, he said, that “it must act in a way that delivers its long-term security” and he said that would ultimately depend on “Palestinians living in peace and stability and security in this land at the same time”.

He also said that getting Arab countries involved in working for a future for the Palestinian people that gave them some kind of security was “a very big part of the picture”.

Lord Cameron was speaking on the day he visited Ramallah in the West Bank where he met Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority and other senior Palestinian leaders.

He announced the UK would give a further £30m in humanitarian aid to the United Nations and other agencies on the ground in Gaza, mainly shelters, blanket, food and medicine. [Continue reading…]