UK suspends free trade talks with Israel, summons regime’s ambassador
The UK has suspended free trade negotiations with Israel, summoned its ambassador, and announced further sanctions against West Bank settlers after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was horrified by Israel’s escalation of the war in Gaza.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy told members of Parliament on Tuesday that the “threat of starvation is hanging over hundreds of thousands of civilians.”
He said the UK government will not ignore the “abominable” situation in Gaza and it will take steps to dissuade the Israeli regime from further escalating the war.
“Frankly, it is an affront to the values of the British people. Therefore, today, I am announcing that we have suspended negotiations with this Israeli [regime] on a new free trade agreement.”
Lammy added that war is not the way to free the remaining captives, and called on Israel to end the blockade of humanitarian aid.
The UK Minister for West Asia, Hamish Falconer, also said, “Today I will set out to Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely the government’s opposition to the wholly disproportionate escalation of military activity in Gaza and emphasize that the 11-week block on aid to Gaza has been cruel and indefensible.”
Israel must follow its obligations under International Humanitarian Law and confirm “full, rapid, safe and unhindered” provision of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, Falconer added.
The Israeli military announced last week that it will intensify its attacks on Gaza.
Since May 16, it has conducted a wave of massive aerial assaults and deployed additional troops to the Palestinian territory.
On Monday, in a joint statement, Canada, France, and the UK condemned the expansion of Israel’s war on Gaza and called on the regime to lift the restrictions on humanitarian aid entering the enclave.
The UK has also imposed sanctions on several groups and individuals in the occupied West Bank who have been linked to acts of violence against Palestinians.
In response to the UK’s decision to halt the free trade agreement, Oren Marmorstein, a spokesperson for the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs, wrote on his X account, “Even prior to today’s announcement, the free trade agreement negotiations were not being advanced at all by the current UK government … The British Mandate ended exactly 77 years ago. External pressure will not divert Israel from its path.”
Since October 7, when the Israeli regime began its genocidal war against the people of Gaza, it has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians and injured more than 120,000 others, most of whom are children and women.
