Conservative leader David Cameron has told supporters that his belief in Israel’s right to exist and defend itself is “indestructible”.
Speaking at the Conservative Friends of Israel annual business lunch in central London on Thursday, Mr Cameron also attacked the Government’s stance on tackling antisemitism and extremism, claiming not enough had been done to reassure British Jews.
He said former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was wrong to include controversial Jewish-American radio host Michael Savage on a list of extremists while ignoring Islamic cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Ibrahim Moussawi, Hizbollah media relations officer.
He repeated his call for radical Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir to be proscribed, saying the Government had “not done anything” about tackling the organisation.
“I will stand firm against antisemitism in all forms and wherever it occurs,” he said.
In March last year he said he would “put Hizb ut-Tahrir out of business”, describing it as a “conveyor belt to terrorism”.
Mr Cameron said he would also take a hard line on “completely unacceptable” academic boycotts of Israel.
He said there was “no sustainable alternative” to a two-state solution. Although he called on Hamas to change its stance towards Israel, he warned that expansion of settlements “fuels extremism”.