UK accuses Israel of holding up aid at border for weeks

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The British foreign secretary accused Israel of holding up aid, saying that a key aid crossing in Gaza is blocked by Israel.

David Cameron voiced "enormous frustration" that the UK aid for Gaza has been routinely held up waiting for Israeli permissions.

In a letter to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Alicia Kearns, Cameron pointed out "arbitrary denials" by the Israeli government.

"UK aid for Gaza has been routinely held up waiting for Israeli permissions. For instance, I am aware of some UK-funded aid being stuck at the border for just under three weeks waiting for approval," said the foreign secretary.

He also refuted claims by Eylon Levy, a former Israeli spokesperson who has been suspended, that the Kerem Shalom border crossing in southern Gaza had been closed on Saturdays at the request of the UN.

Cameron said that Israel closes it due to the Sabbath.

In a now-deleted post on March 8, Levy claimed that there are no limits on the entry of food, water, medicine, or shelter equipment into Gaza.

"Test us. Send another 100 trucks a day to Kerem Shalom and we’ll get them in," he wrote on X, responding to a post by Cameron urging Israel to allow more aid.

"In response to the Israeli spokesman claims you quote in your letter, I can confirm that the UN has not requested that the Kerem Shalom crossings (be) closed on Saturdays. It is our understanding that Israel closes it due to the Sabbath," he said in the letter, shared by Kearns on X on Thursday.

- 'Israel’s arbitrary denials and lengthy clearance processes'

"The main blockers remain arbitrary denials by the government of Israel and lengthy clearance procedures, including multiple screenings and narrow opening windows in daylight hours," noted the foreign secretary.

Following the letter by Cameron, Kearns issued a statement, expressing concern over "one of the most desperate, distressing humanitarian disasters in recent memory."

"Today’s letter confirms what we saw and heard on our visit to the border area – that Israel’s arbitrary denials and lengthy clearance processes are key factors in holding up the delivery of aid," she noted.

She urged Israel to open Ashdod port and more border crossings to enable the much-needed aid to Palestinian civilians in the besieged enclave.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.

Nearly 32,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and nearly 74,200 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war, now in its 167th day, has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in January issued an interim ruling ordering Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.