UK ends Israel trade talks after 'indefensible' new Gaza offensive

The British government has sanctioned illegal Israeli settlers, halted trade negotiations and summoned the ambassador using the strongest language yet to condemn the country's “intolerable” and “repellent” actions in Gaza.

In impassioned scenes in the UK Parliament, Foreign Secretary David Lammy condemned Israel's renewed offensive in Gaza as “morally wrong”.

The deaths of 53,573 Palestinians since the October 2023 attacks by Hamas on Israel and the current military campaign that has driven Gazans from their homes into a corner of the strip have pushed Westminster into taking its strongest action to date.

“We must call this what it is. It is extremism. It is dangerous, it is repellent,” Mr Lammy told Parliament. “I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”

He announced sanctions against West Bank settlers on Tuesday as “settler violence has soared”. The list of seven sanctioned entities included three people and four organisations. The activist Daniella Weiss – recently profiled by broadcaster Louis Theroux and who is regarded as one of the most extreme settlers – was on the list.

Mr Lammy said the measures follow a dramatic surge in settler violence in the occupied West Bank, with the UN recording more than 1,800 attacks against Palestinian communities since January 1, 2024.

“We are demonstrating again that we will continue to act against those carrying out heinous abuses of human rights,” he said.

Aid blockade

The Foreign Secretary called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “end this blockade now” as only 10 aid lorries have entered Gaza since the weekend. Many humanitarian groups say 500 shipments are required each day to sustain Gaza's population.

The 10 lorries were the first consignments into Gaza for nearly three months.

Mr Lammy also condemned senior Israeli cabinet members who call for the “cleansing” from Gaza of Palestinians.

“We are now entering a dark new phase in this conflict. The Netanyahu government is planning to drive Gazans from their homes into a corner of the strip to the south and permit a fraction of the aid that they need,” he said.

Pressure has been mounting on the UK government to take a tougher line on Israel. At the weekend, thousands of pro-Palestine supporters demonstrated in London calling for action to "end the ongoing cleansing of Palestinians from their land". The UK's Co-op supermarket chain announced at its annual meeting that members had voted to stop selling Israeli goods and cease all trade with the country and its suppliers.

The National also understands that elements within the British government are pushing hard for hard-right Israeli cabinet members to be sanctioned too.

There is also growing support for Britain and France to jointly recognise a Palestinian state at a conference hosted with Saudi Arabia in Paris next month.

In his statement to Parliament, Mr Lammy also announced the formal pause of the extension to the Free Trade Agreement negotiations with Israel.

“While the UK government remains committed to the existing trade agreement in force, it is not possible to advance discussions on a new, upgraded FTA with a Netanyahu government that is pursuing egregious policies in the West Bank and Gaza,” he said.

As he announced that Israeli ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely had been summoned to the Foreign Office, a Labour back bench MP shouted: “Expel them!”

Hamish Falconer, Parliamentary Under Secretary for the Middle East, said he would tell Ms Hotovely that “the 11-week block on aid to Gaza has been cruel and indefensible”.

The Israeli foreign ministry claimed that even before Mr Lammy’s announcement the free trade negotiations “were not being advanced at all by the current UK government”.

“If, due to anti-Israel obsession and domestic political considerations, the British government is willing to harm the British economy — that is its own prerogative,” said Oren Marmorstein, the foreign ministry spokesman.

He added that sanctions against the settlers were “unjustified, and regrettable” and made the point that the British Mandate over Palestine “ended exactly 77 years ago”.

All party support

MPs from all parties supported the government’s actions but many called for even more to be done to stop the increasing number of deaths in Gaza.

There was praise for Mr Lammy’s harsh words against Israel, particularly from Conservative MP Mark Pritchard, who called them the “strongest statement that I’ve heard in this House” on the issue.

Foremost were calls for Britain to join the 147 other countries to recognise the Palestinian state, with the government pressed to hold a free vote on the matter.

This was suggested by another Conservative MP Martin Vickers, who said there would be “overwhelming support for ... something that would give the government moral authority to take even more robust, further action”.

Mr Lammy said this would be done at a time of the government’s choosing.

Calum Miller, the Lib Dems' foreign affairs spokesman, repeated calls for Israel’s Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich “who have advocated illegal actions to dispossess Palestinians across the occupying territories” to also be sanctioned.

Mr Lammy said he had condemned both ministers’ comments and that he kept “that language under review".

Sarah Champion, chairwoman of the international development committee, told The National that she was "relieved the UK has strongly denounced Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank" but that she remained "gravely concerned that Israeli politicians are still not listening to the world’s outrage”.

Labour MPs were more forceful in their demands, with Afzal Khan demanding Mr Lammy take “further, bold and immediate” action against Israel.

“Repeated strong words without action now ring hollow,” he said. “Netanyahu’s government continues with starvation and killing of innocent Palestinians.”

He said suspending trade negotiation and sanctions “will not stop the killing of innocent Palestinians” as they were dealing with an “extremist, right-wing” government.

Mr Khan, a former policeman, called for Britain to impose a full arms embargo on Israel.

Another Labour Muslim MP, Imran Hussain, said Israel’s action could lead to 14,000 Palestinian children dying in the coming days.

“What we’re getting today is stronger words but with limited action,” he said. “We need further, bold and immediate actions, end all arms sales to Israel, impose economic sanctions and ban Israeli settlement goods. What is the government waiting for?”

The Foreign Secretary responded that “further action could be taken” if Israel’s restrictions on aid did not end.

Calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Earlier, Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined the leaders of France and Canada to formally give voice to their horror at the military escalation in Gaza and repeat calls for an immediate ceasefire.

“I want to put on record today that we're horrified by the escalation from Israel,” Mr Starmer told Parliament, after releasing a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

“We repeat our demand for a ceasefire as the only way to free the hostages. We repeat our opposition to settlements in the West Bank and we repeat our demand to massively scale up humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” Mr Starmer said. “We must co-ordinate our response, because this war has gone on for far too long.”

French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told national radio on Tuesday that Mr Netanyahu's angry response to the three leaders' statement could not disguise the pressure Israel was feeling.

Mr Barrot said the situation in Gaza was unsustainable as the strip had become a death trap for its people. Israel’s announcements of new aid shipments for the first time in 11 weeks was insufficient for an international community which could not turn its eyes from the suffering in Gaza, he said.

He also noted that in Mr Netanyahu’s response the Israeli leader was forced to take into account the position of the international community and its denunciation of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Strained relations

European countries now appear to be losing patience with Mr Netanyahu’s government, with several foreign ministers criticising Israel over the humanitarian situation in Gaza as they met in Brussels on Tuesday.

The EU's foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said: "The Israeli decision to allow aid in is welcome but it is a drop in the ocean. There are thousands of trucks behind the borders waiting. It is European money that has funded this humanitarian aid and it has to reach the people because the situation is extremely grave."

A call by the Netherlands for a review of relations with Israel has sent a strong signal about Europe's concern over Gaza, said Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp.

"We're very concerned about the intensified war effort," Mr Veldkamp said. "I also noticed that concerns about this are really rising in Israeli society, in the Israeli security establishment, armed forces, [and] intelligence services."

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said business as usual with Israel could not continue. "It is time to tell Israel we will not remain inactive and we will not turn a blind eye," he said.

"We need to tell Israelis that there are situations where we can no longer find words, we can no longer find justifications, we can no longer find excuses. That is why we need to analyse the association agreement so that the [EU] Commission can verify whether human rights are still respected."

Neale Richmond, Irish Minister for International Development and Diaspora, said European countries had "eyes and ears" that allowed them to understand it was time to launch a review. In February 2024, Ireland and Spain made a similar call but it was ignored at the time due to insufficient political backing from other EU countries. To this day, a number of countries still oppose a review, including Germany.

"Starving families are being murdered every day," Mr Richmond said. "This is not acceptable and it's clearly now time for the EU to look at the EU-Israel trade association and the very clear breaches of the human rights under Article two."