- James Landale, Jerusalem, by Sean Seddon
- bbc news
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told British Foreign Secretary David Cameron that Israel would “make its own decision” on how to respond to the Iranian attack.
He said the British government would “do whatever it takes to protect itself” during talks that it hoped would prevent an escalation of the situation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to retaliate for the weekend's unprecedented missile and drone attacks.
Lord Cameron said any response should be “sensible” and limited.
Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem after meeting Netanyahu, Cameron said he had come to “show our solidarity” in the wake of Iran's “horrific” attack.
He added: “We want everything Israel does to be as limited, targeted and sensible as possible.
“It's not in anyone's interest for an escalation to occur, and that's something I've made clear to everyone I've spoken to here in Israel.”
After the meeting, the Israeli prime minister said: “I want to be clear: We make our own decisions and the state of Israel will do whatever it takes to protect itself.”
Netanyahu's comments are likely to reinforce the idea among Western capitals that Israel intends to take action against Iran and that there are limits to how often it can call for restraint.
Israel is well aware of European and American concerns about the escalating wars in the region.
But Western leaders are reassured by the fact that Israeli leaders are looking to capitalize on the diplomatic support they received after the attack on Iran, as well as international condemnation and the promise of new sanctions against Iran. You may be thinking about it.
Prime Minister Netanyahu may not want to destroy that alliance with a retaliatory act that would plunge the region into full-scale war.
Prime Minister Cameron is one of several Western foreign ministers expected to visit Israel in the coming days as part of a diplomatic effort to prevent such an eventuality.
Prior to his meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Prime Minister Cameron spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
The British Foreign Secretary also visited the Occupied Palestinian Territories and met with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa.
G7 ministers are convening in Italy, where Prime Minister David Cameron is expected to push for coordinated sanctions against Iran.
Earlier, he accused Iran of being “behind many malign activities” in the Middle East and called on other countries to take steps to limit Iran's influence.
The United States and the European Union are considering further sanctions, and Israel is asking its allies to designate Iran's main military, political and economic force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), as a terrorist organization.
Israel has repeatedly vowed to retaliate after Iran sent more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel in an unprecedented direct attack on Saturday night.
Almost all of the projectiles were intercepted by Israeli air defense systems, with support from Britain, the United States, France and Jordan.
Iran's direct attack on Israel was carried out in response to an April 1 attack in Syria that killed a senior Iranian military official. Israel has not publicly acknowledged that it was behind the attack, but it is widely believed to have been involved.
On Tuesday night, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and warned that “any significant escalation will only worsen instability in the region,” adding: “Now is the time for calm to prevail.” .
Mr Cameron is walking a delicate diplomatic line as he plans to reinforce Mr Sunak's calls for restraint during his visit to Israel and put further pressure on leaders to allow humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Foreign ministers will not want to appear to be taking advantage of an ally who has just suffered an unprecedented attack on its territory.
That's why Prime Minister Cameron has also spoken about the need to free Hamas hostages and the importance of Western countries imposing further sanctions on Iran.
His presence in Jerusalem is a show of support and solidarity, but also an attempt to warn Israeli leaders that serious escalation would be against Israel's and the world's interests.