Free Republic

The chemical weapons attack blamed on Bashar Assad’s regime must not go “unpunished”, Boris Johnson warned today. The Mayor of London also piled pressure on David Cameron to hold a second Commons vote to allow Britain to join military action against Assad’s forces. Just weeks ago, Mr Johnson told of his “deep anxieties” about the UK getting involved in the Syrian civil war in which at least 100,000 people have died. However, he said today: “But to use gas for mass murder is a crime that we cannot allow to go unpunished.” Writing in his Daily Telegraph column, the Mayor...

A British minister on Thursday harshly condemned Israel for its plans to expand construction in East Jerusalem and for conferring university status on a college in the West Bank city of Ariel, employing damning language rarely used by government officials. While international outcries following Israeli announcements of construction beyond the Green Line are a common occurrence, UK Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt took the unusual step of mentioning the Geneva Conventions, likely implying that settlement expansion is considered a war crime under international law. snip The minister further said that the United Kingdom appreciates the Palestinian leadership’s “measured...

US president will use visit to London to keep pressure on Israel for Middle East peace deal Barack Obama will seek a joint Middle East agreement with David Cameron, insisting that a Palestinian state should be based on pre-1967 borders – a proposal rejected by Israel's prime minister as "unrealistic" and "indefensible". The issue will be raised in private talks between the two men during the state visit by Obama and his wife to London, only the third by a US president in 100 years. Afghanistan, Libya, relations with Pakistan and the global economy – as well as the vacancy...