• The surprising appointment of ex-Prime Minister David Cameron as Foreign Secretary could alter foreign policy and international relations for the United Kingdom.
• In 2010, David Cameron declared Gaza was an “open prison”, and openly criticised Israel’s “illegal settlements” in Palestine. Could this opinion help shift the government’s sentiments around Gaza or will the UK continue to be a “friend to Israel”?
Suella Braverman, now former home secretary, was fired on Monday after her irresponsible and inflammatory article in The Times. Her statements aggravated tensions on the weekend between the far-right and pro-Palestinian protestors.
Mrs Braverman’s dismissal has facilitated a reshuffle of the major cabinet by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Notably, James Cleverly, former Foreign Secretary, will take Mrs Braverman’s position as Home Secretary; and ex-Prime Minister David Cameron (2010-2016) has unexpectedly returned to politics as Foreign Secretary.
This revelation has sent ripples of shock across the country, with a mixed reaction from the government and its citizens.
David Cameron resigned as Prime Minister after the controversial choice to call the Brexit referendum, and left a legacy of contentious foreign policy decisions. Will Mr Cameron’s previous foreign relations influence his actions as Foreign Secretary?
A video has emerged from 2010, where David Cameron was vocal around his disapproval of Israeli treatment of Gaza. In a speech to business leaders in Ankara, the then Prime Minister claims: “Humanitarian goods and people must flow in both directions. Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp.”
As the situation in Palestine has worsened drastically since 2010, the above desire to supply humanitarian aid to Gaza and stop the illegal occupation of Israel in Gaza has been echoed by thousands of pro-Palestinian protestors around the world.
His stance on Gaza as an “illegal settlement” remained in 2016, but upheld that the UK “are supporters of Israel”.
Despite David Cameron’s sentiments around Gaza, he also made several disastrous decisions in the Middle East and Africa. Most significantly, he stated the UK’s intervention in Afghanistan was a “great success” and was “proud” of his decision to intervene in Libya in 2011.
The NATO-led intervention in Libya was a catastrophe and the military action left a failed state in its wake. The political situation in Libya remains fragile, and outbreaks of violence continues until today. In 2016, the parliament foreign affairs committee announces the intervention was “founded on erroneous assumptions and an incomplete understanding of the country and the situation.”
Will the UK learn from their previous mistakes in foreign interventions? Will David Cameron’s understanding of Gaza as an “open prison” in the past influence his decisions as Foreign Secretary?
After his appointment as Foreign Secretary, David Cameron said that addressing the situation in Gaza was one of his top agendas, but further shares “as a time of profound global change, it has rarely been more important for this country to stand by our allies, strengthen our partnerships and make sure our voice is heard.”
It is our hope that Britain’s voice will reflect those of its citizens, who are marching in the streets calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. It will be found out if the government listens to their people in the vote on a ceasefire this Wednesday.
