British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday appeared increasingly isolated over his handling of the Lebanon crisis after his former foreign secretary Jack Straw broke Cabinet ranks to attack Israel's "disproportionate" assault on Hezbollah.
Blair, on a tour of the US, defended his support of US President George W. Bush's refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire or condemn Israel's response, which has led to rising criticism abroad and in Britain.
Straw, who was replaced by Margaret Beckett in a May Cabinet reshuffle, warned that Israel's retaliatory attack on the Shiite militia group in Lebanon risked fuelling further violence in the Middle East.
He is the first ranking Labour Party member to have criticized Israel in such a public way, though newspapers reported that other Blair allies were privately voicing their disquiet about his refusal to censure the scale of Israel's assault.
"Disproportionate action only escalates an already dangerous situation," Straw said in a statement to Muslims in his constituency of Blackburn, northwest England.
"One of the many serious concerns that I have is that the continuation of such tactics by the Israelis could further destabilize the already fragile Lebanese nation," he said.
"If you want to go for Hezbollah, go for Hezbollah, not the whole Lebanese nation," said Straw, who was demoted in May to the lesser Cabinet post of leader of the House of Commons, where he is responsible for arranging government business.
Beckett yesterday described the Israeli raids on the Lebanese village of Qana as "quite appalling," adding that Britain has "repeatedly urged the Israelis to act proportionately."
However, speaking to Sky News, she refrained from calling the Qana attack disproportionate, claiming simply that it was a "tragedy" for the families of those killed.
Other Cabinet ministers meanwhile reacted to Straw's comments.
"I've read what Jack has said and Jack gives a balanced account of what's going on, and he says -- like all of us -- we're looking for a durable ceasefire," said Lord Chancellor Charles Falconer, a close ally of Blair.
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