An online argument between David Cameron, foreign secretary of the United Kingdom, and Eylon Levy, an English-language spokesperson for the Israeli government following Oct. 7, has led to the latter’s suspension.
“People in Gaza are in desperate humanitarian need. Alongside the US, the UK and partners have announced we will open a maritime corridor to deliver aid directly to Gaza,” Cameron wrote on social network X. “We continue to urge Israel to allow more trucks into Gaza as the fastest way to get aid to those who need it.”
People in Gaza are in desperate humanitarian need.
Alongside the US, the UK and partners have announced we will open a maritime corridor to deliver aid directly to Gaza.
We continue to urge Israel to allow more trucks into Gaza as the fastest way to get aid to those who need…
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) March 8, 2024
Levy, whose account features more than 188,000 followers, responded in a post that he later deleted: “I hope you are also aware there are NO limits on the entry of food, water, medicine, or shelter equipment into Gaza, and in fact the crossings have EXCESS capacity.”
Levy called on the United Kingdom to “test us. Send another 100 trucks a day to Kerem Shalom [crossing], and we’ll get them in.”
This led the country’s embassy in Tel Aviv to contact Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office with a complaint that a source characterized to the Financial Times as: “Is this the way allies speak to each other?”
Levy’s suspension was confirmed by Netanyahu’s office on Tuesday.
His X bio still lists him as “Israeli Government Spokesman in the October 7 War” alongside the slogan “Keep Calm and Am Yisrael Chai,” a nod to Levy’s own British-Israeli heritage.
