The UK government has suspended ongoing free trade negotiations with Israel and introduced new sanctions targeting Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank in response to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced this on Tuesday, citing Israel’s negative policies in both Gaza and the West Bank. While the current trade agreement remains in place, Lammy stated that continued negotiations were untenable under the current Israeli government’s actions.
“The Israeli government has a responsibility to stop the violence perpetrated by extremist settlers,” Lammy said.
“Their consistent failure to intervene is endangering Palestinian communities and the viability of a two-state solution.”
The announcement followed a joint statement from the UK, France, and Canada condemning Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the West Bank. The coordinated rebuke marks one of the strongest stances taken by close allies of Israel since the conflict restarted last year.
On Tuesday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer further criticised Israel, describing the suffering of children in Gaza as “utterly intolerable” and reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire.
“We are horrified by the escalation from Israel,” Starmer told the UK Parliament.
“This war has gone on far too long. We must coordinate our response. We cannot allow the people of Gaza to starve,” he added.
Starmer called for increased humanitarian aid into the territory, calling Israel’s current level of access “utterly inadequate”.
He also stressed that a ceasefire is the only viable path to securing the release of hostages held by Hamas.
International pressure on Israel has mounted amid reports of famine and severe humanitarian shortages in Gaza following nearly three months of restricted aid.
While Israel recently allowed some aid trucks into the territory, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called the flow a “drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed”.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also stepped up pressure, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the unblocking of aid routes into Gaza.
Macron has hinted that France could recognise a Palestinian state, possibly in June during an international summit co-hosted with Saudi Arabia focused on implementing a two-state solution.
France’s relations with Israel have grown tense after Macron previously called for a halt in arms shipments for use in Gaza, calling on the EU to reconsider its cooperation agreements with Israel.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the joint UK-France-Canada statement, claiming its actions served as “a huge prize for Hamas”.
Despite initial international backing for Israel’s right to self-defence, Western allies are beginning to fade amid growing civilian casualties and concerns over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.