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The United Kingdom has suspended free trade talks with Israel and is preparing to impose sanctions on senior members of the Israeli government over the “intolerable” military escalation in the Gaza Strip. This was reported by The Times.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has strongly condemned the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, calling Israeli ministers’ calls for the “cleansing” of Gaza and the resettlement of Palestinians to third countries “disgusting and extremist”. In particular, he criticised Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrych, who spoke of “destroying the remnants” of Gaza and displacing its residents.
“We have to call it what it is. This is extremism. It is dangerous. It is disgusting. It’s appalling, and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” Lammy said in the House of Commons, where MPs from different parties shouted the word “genocide”. He also called Israel’s refusal to allow thousands of humanitarian aid trucks through “an affront to the values of the British people” and accused the Netanyahu government of isolating Israel from its allies.
The British government is developing plans, together with other countries, to impose sanctions on key Israeli officials, including Smotrych, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Defence Minister Israel Katz. This is the UK’s strongest criticism of Israel since the start of the war with Hamas in 2023. In September 2024, the UK already suspended some arms exports to Israel, and earlier this year, Lammy called the blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza a violation of international law.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, along with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, issued a joint statement on Monday warning Israel of the risk of violating international humanitarian law. “Humanitarian aid must get to Gaza quickly,” Starmer said during a visit to a supermarket in north London, stressing that the current situation of bombing, particularly of children, and the threat of starvation is “intolerable”.
According to The Times, US President Donald Trump is expressing growing irritation with Israel’s unwillingness to end the war. Although the White House avoids public criticism, Trump has allegedly instructed his officials to urge Netanyahu to “wind down” the conflict, believing that the suffering in Gaza has reached an unacceptable level.
The European Union has also increased pressure on Israel: most member states supported the Netherlands’ proposal to revise the trade agreement with Israel due to the “catastrophic” situation in Gaza.
Lammi stressed that restricting humanitarian aid will not help to free the hostages held by Hamas. “The civilian population of Gaza, already facing hunger, homelessness and trauma, is now subject to more bombardment, displacement and suffering. Hostages held by Hamas for nearly 600 days are at even greater risk because of the war,” he said. According to the UN, no humanitarian aid was distributed to Gaza on Tuesday, although nine trucks did enter the Strip on Monday after ten weeks of blockade.
Israel, for its part, said that international pressure would not force it to change course. “If the British government is willing to harm its economy because of anti-Israeli obsession and domestic political considerations, that is its prerogative,” said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein, adding that external pressure would not deter Israel from defending its existence.
The UK also imposed sanctions on settlers in the West Bank, accusing them of violence against Palestinians, and summoned Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely to the Foreign Ministry to protest the escalation.
Source: The Times
