Cameron says Israel’s ‘encirclement’ of East Jerusalem is ‘genuinely shocking’

The Prime Minister has criticised Israel’s ‘encirclement’ of East Jerusalem as being ‘genuinely shocking.’

Responding to Labour’s Imran Hussain at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, David 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 PM 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.

In reply to the Bradford East MP, Cameron said during his first visit to Israel’s capital 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.”

As of 2014, over 300,000 settlers live in East Jerusalem, with over 400,000 in settlements in the West Bank.