The Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely has been summoned to the Foreign Office today (Alamy)
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The UK has suspended negotiations with the Israeli government over a new free trade agreement following Israel’s “conduct of the war in Gaza”.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the House of Commons on Tuesday that “the Netanyahu government’s actions have made this necessary.”
He said the Israeli government was “isolating Israel from its friends and partners around the world, undermining the interests of the Israeli people and damaging the image of the state of Israel in the eyes of the world”.
The Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely has been summoned to the Foreign Office today, where Lammy will outline the government’s opposition to the “wholly disproportionate escalation of military activity in Gaza” and say the 11-week block on aid to Gaza has been “cruel and indefensible”.
Lammy will also urge Israel to “halt settlement expansion and settler violence in the West Bank”.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer today told MPs that the leaders of the UK, France and Canada are “horrified by the escalation from Israel” and said “we cannot allow the people of Gaza to starve”.
The UN said it has been given permission to send around 100 aid trucks into Gaza today, after warning that 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in the next 48 hours if more aid did not reach them.
A statement by Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday increased pressure on Netanyahu, calling the expansion of military operations in Gaza “wholly disproportionate”.
The leaders also promised to take “further concrete actions” if Israel did not stop its renewed military operations in Gaza.
The move marked a change in tone for the nations. Following the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, in which around 1,200 people were killed, the UK has been staunch that Israel has the right to defend itself.
Lammy told the Commons today: “We have suspended negotiations with this Israeli government on a new free trade agreement.
“We will be reviewing co-operation with them under the 2030 bilateral roadmap. The Netanyahu government’s actions have made this necessary.”
Addressing Israelis, Lammy said: “We are unwavering in our commitment to your security and to your future, to countering the very real threat from Iran, the scourge of terrorism and the evils of antisemitism, but the conduct of the war in Gaza is damaging our relationship with your government.”
“And as the Prime Minister has said, if Israel pursues this military offensive, as it has threatened, failing to ensure the unhindered provision of aid, we will take further action in response.”
Lammy added: “Despite our efforts, this Israeli government’s egregious actions and rhetoric have continued. They are isolating Israel from its friends and partners around the world, undermining the interests of the Israeli people and damaging the image of the state of Israel in the eyes of the world.”
The government has also announced sanctions targeting three individuals, two illegal settler outposts and two organisations supporting violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
Responding to today’s announcement, spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oren Marmorstein said: “Even prior to today’s announcement, the free trade agreement negotiations were not being advanced at all by the current UK government.”
Marmorstein also called the sanctions “unjustified and regrettable”.
