UK warned Israel over 'out of control' troops in 2002: archives

The newly-released files highlight Western concern over the Palestinian death toll during Operation Defensive Shield launched by then-Israeli premier Ariel Sharon in March 2002. The comments are similar to concerns expressed by some Western allies over Israel's current military operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Britain's ambassador to Israel at the time warned Sharon's foreign policy adviser that the incursion by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was a "major strategic mistake" which was...