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Sir Keir Starmer has said Britain is considering imposing sanctions on Israeli ministers as pressure mounts on the Tel Aviv government over its actions in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.
It comes one day after the UK imposed fresh sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank, accusing Israel of allowing “impunity to flourish” among extremist settlers.
Hours earlier, former foreign secretary Lord Cameron had revealed he had been preparing to sanction Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir during his final days in the role before the general election was called.
Asked at Prime Minister’s Questions whether those sanctions would be applied, Sir Keir said: “We are looking at that.”
He said the pair had made “abhorrent” comments about the situation in Gaza and the West Bank.
The prime minister added: “The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire. The death toll has passed 42,000 and access to basic services is becoming much harder.
“Israel must take all possible steps to avoid civilian casualties, to allow aid into Gaza in much greater volumes and provide the UN humanitarian partners the ability to operate effectively.
“Along with France, the UK will convene an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to address this.”
Sir Keir also said he agrees with the position taken by the White House when it warned that more humanitarian aid must flow into Gaza or Israel would face have weapons funding cut.
Secretary of state Antony Blinken and defence secretary Lloyd Austin wrote to their Israeli counterparts demanding changes amid deteriorating conditions in northern Gaza and an Israeli strike on a hospital tent site that killed at least four people, causing international dismay.
Sir Keir told the Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions: “I do agree with those remarks and we are constantly making representations on this with our partners. There is an urgent need for more aid to get into Gaza.
“It is a desperate situation and Israel must comply with its international humanitarian law obligations.”
For Israel to continue qualifying for foreign military financing, the level of aid getting into Gaza must increase to at least 350 trucks a day, Israel must institute additional humanitarian pauses and provide increased security for humanitarian sites, Mr Austin and Mr Blinken wrote. They said Israel had 30 days to respond.
The sanctions announced on Tuesday target three outposts and four organisations that have supported and perpetrated “heinous abuses of human rights” against Palestinian communities in the occupied territory, foreign secretary David Lammy said.
Labour Friends of Israel welcomed the restrictions, with the organisation’s chair, Jon Pearce, saying: “The violent attacks carried out by extremist settlers against Palestinian civilians, their homes and property are, as President Herzog has repeatedly stated, immoral and illegal.
“We welcome the sanctions announced by the government today to tackle extremist violence, and support targeted measures against those on both sides of the conflict who incite and perpetrate violence.”
It came hours after Lord Cameron piled pressure on Labour to take action, saying that before the general election he was “working up” sanctions on the two Israeli ministers as a way of putting pressure on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to act within international law.
Mr Smotrich was recently criticised for appearing to suggest it might be “just and moral” to withhold food aid from Gaza, while Mr Ben-Gvir has backed the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank.
Lord Cameron told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Before we left office I was working up sanctions on these two ministers, ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, who, when you look at what they say, they have said things like encouraging people to stop aid convoys going into Gaza, they have encouraged extreme settlers in the West Bank with the appalling things they have been carrying out.
“So, actually saying to Netanyahu, ‘yes, we support your right to self-defence, no, we are not going to end the sale of arms, but actually when ministers in your government who are extremists and behave in this way, we are prepared to use our sanctions regime to say this is not good enough and has to stop’.”
