THE TELEGRAPH: William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, has launched an outspoken attack on the Israeli authorities over their arrests of British detainees from the flotilla.
As the detainees were deported from a prison camp via Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Mr Hague said he was "seriously concerned" at the seizure of British nationals in international waters.
He added that nine had still not been seen by consular staff, and complained of the difficulty in gaining access to the other 28.
"We are urgently pressing the Israeli government to resolve this situation within hours," Mr Hague said. "There is real, understandable and justified anger at the events which have unfolded.
"In some cases consular staff have been having to go to the prison at Beersheva, hammer on doors and ask people if they are British. It has been a chaotic situation, it is completely unsatisfactory."
Earlier in the day the prime minister, David Cameron, used question-time in the House of Commons to call the Israeli attack on the flotilla "completely unacceptable".
Together the attacks on Israel and its government amount to a new low in the rapidly deteriorating relationship between Britain and Israel.
While the Foreign Office has often notoriously been criticised for pro-Arab leanings, the Israelis have always been assured of an understanding ear in Downing Street, particularly under the governments of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. That may now have changed. >>> Richard Spencer and Murray Wardrop | Wednesday, June 02, 2010
