UK: Western Public Opinion Becoming Less Sympathetic to Israel

Western nations are losing sympathy for Israel as casualties mount from its military operation in Gaza, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Thursday.

Speaking on his first official visit to the region since taking over as Britain's foreign affairs chief, Hammond insisted however that the cause of the crisis was Hamas militants firing rockets from Gaza into Israel.

"As this campaign goes on and the civilian casualties in Gaza mount, Western public opinion is becoming more and more concerned and less and less sympathetic to Israel," Hammond told Britain's Sky News television.

"That's simply a fact and I have to tell that to my Israeli counterparts," Hammond added before meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hammond later said at a news conference with Netanyahu that Britain was "gravely concerned" by the violence that has claimed the lives of at least 788 Palestinians in Gaza, 34 Israelis, mainly soldiers, and a Thai worker.

But he did not repeat the warning about Western public opinion.

Instead, he expressed Britain's support for Israel's right to “self-defense” and called for Hamas to agree to a ceasefire.