UK summons Israeli ambassador and suspends trade talks over Gaza actions

The British government has announced it is suspending free trade negotiations with Israel, summoning the Israeli ambassador and imposing new sanctions on West Bank settlements in response to Israel’s ongoing military actions in Gaza.

“I want to put on record today that we’re horrified by the escalation from Israel,” said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a parliamentary speech on Tuesday. He also called for increased shipments of humanitarian aid into Gaza, saying the basic quantity allowed by Israel is “utterly inadequate”.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that although the UK’s current trade agreement with Israel remains in effect, the government cannot continue further talks while Israel carries out what he called “egregious policies” in both Gaza and the West Bank.

Lammy also announced his ministry was summoning the Israeli ambassador over Israel's expansion of its military operations in the occupied Palestinian territory, launched in the wake of the October 2023 attack by Hamas militants.

“The Israeli government has a responsibility to intervene and halt these aggressive actions,” Lammy said. “Their consistent failure to act is putting Palestinian communities and the two-state solution in peril.”

The UK’s moves follow a joint statement released on Monday by Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The three leaders condemned Israel’s actions, especially considering worsening conditions in Gaza and the West Bank and warned of “concrete actions” if Israel does not ease restrictions and cease its renewed offensive.

Israel initially received international backing after the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, which left around 1,200 people dead and 251 taken hostage. However, with more than 53,000 Palestinians now reported dead, mostly women and children, by Gaza’s health ministry, support has sharply declined.

In recent days alone, over 300 people have been killed in Israel’s latest airstrikes, according to local officials. While Israel began allowing limited humanitarian aid, including baby food, into Gaza on Monday, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called it “a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed”.

International pressure has been building on Israel following a nearly three-month blockade of supplies into Gaza that led to warnings that widespread famine was imminent, with even the United States, an ally of Israel, voicing concerns over the growing hunger crisis.

France has been at the forefront of growing European criticism. Macron has increased diplomatic pressure, recently saying that recognising a Palestinian state is “not a taboo” and hinting that France may do so in June.

In a reaction to all of this, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the joint statement by the UK, France and Canada as a “huge prize” for Hamas.