From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Report: Netanyahu avoiding call from British PM Sunak over Iran
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly avoiding a call from British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was supposed to speak with the Israeli leader yesterday, the Kan public broadcaster claims in an unsourced report.
The Prime Minister’s Office says the report is not true, but would not say whether the two leaders have spoken yet.
Sunak told the House of Commons yesterday that he would “shortly speak to Prime Minister Netanyahu to express our solidarity with Israel… and to discuss how we can prevent further escalation,” in the wake of the massive Iranian aerial bombardment of Israel early Sunday, but the call is yet to happen.
The UK’s Sky News also reported earlier today that Sunak was set to speak with Netanyahu later today.
The Israeli war cabinet is currently considering how it will respond to the attack, with numerous nations, including those who helped thwart the assault — the UK among them — calling for Jerusalem to show restraint and avoid further escalating the situation. Britain’s Royal Air Force was one of several foreign air forces that participated in shooting down Iranian drones during the huge barrage on Saturday night.
Yesterday, Kan reported that the PMO had refused to schedule calls of several foreign leaders with Netanyahu since Sunday.
