• After threatening to take concrete action against Israel, the UK has suspended free trade negotiations with Israel.
• In addition to the move the UK is also imposing sanctions on illegal settlers.
The UK government has said it will suspend new free trade negotiations with Israel due to its recent escalation in military conduct in Gaza where hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in recent days under the new ground offensive and heavy bombardment.
The suspension of new free trade negotiations will not affect the existing trade agreements rather will affect new discussions that would be undertaken with an Israeli government pursuing “egregious policies” according to David Lammy, UK’s foreign secretary.
Lammy also said that the UK will now be imposing sanctions on another “three individuals, two illegal settler outposts and two organizations supporting violence against the Palestinians community.
Lammy said: “The Israeli government has a responsibility to intervene and halt these aggressive actions.
“Their consistent failure to act is putting Palestinian communities and the two-state solution in peril.”
The UK also summoned Israel’s ambassador, Tzipi Hotovely to address the genocide in Gaza.
Israel has responded to the UK decision claiming that the external pressure against its escalation in Gaza will not divert it from its path.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has said in response: “The British Mandate ended exactly 77 years ago.
“External pressure will not divert Israel from its path in the struggle for its existence and security against enemies seeking its destruction.”
The ministry also said sanctions on settlers announced today were “puzzling, unjustified and regrettable.”
The British governments move comes a day after the UK, France and Canada released a joint statement condemning Israel’s handling of the genocide in Gaza and the continuous assaults and raids in the West Bank.
They also threatened to take concrete action if Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid while saying the limited amount of food let in by Israel is ‘inadequate’.
