UK mulling sanctions against Israeli ministers: Starmer
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Keir Starmer calls the comments made by Ben-Gvir and Smotrich "abhorrent" and reveals that Britain was looking into the issue and considering sanctioning them.
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Benjamin Netanyahu and Itamar Ben Gvir in the Knesset on November 15, 2022. (AP)
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir may be sanctioned by Britain for remarks they made regarding civilians in Gaza and West Bank settlements, Prime Minister Keir Starmer divulged Wednesday.
Starmer was replying to a query concerning Smotrich's comments that starving civilians in Gaza may be acceptable, as well as Ben-Gvir's remarks that Israeli settlers who attack Palestinians in the West Bank are "heroes", after suggesting in April that executing Palestinian detainees is a way to address overcrowding in Israeli occupation prisons.
Smotrich stated Monday that he views blocking humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip as “justified and moral,” even if it leads to the starvation of two million civilians. He added, however, that the international community would not permit such an outcome. “We are bringing in aid because there is no choice,” he added.
Speaking before a United Nations Security Council emergency meeting requested by Britain, France, and Algeria to review the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Starmer called the comments "abhorrent" and disclosed that Britain was looking into the issue.
His administration has restricted some arms export licenses to "Israel", citing concerns that specific equipment may be used to perpetrate significant human rights violations.
The United Kingdom has suspended certain arms sales to "Israel", while the US has paused deliveries of a specific type of heavy bomb. Nonetheless, both countries assisted "Israel" in intercepting Iranian ballistic missiles earlier this month.
50 UK MPs urge sanctioning 'Israel' over ‘crimes against humanity'
On Tuesday, fifty members of the British Parliament urged for sanctions against the Israeli regime for its “crimes against humanity.”
The Early Day Motion (EDM), introduced by MP Richard Burgon, called on the government to impose sanctions on "Israel" due to its ongoing violations of international law in Palestine.
According to the lawmaker, "Israel" has carried out war crimes and violated international law for over a year, adding, "We need real action from political leaders- not just words," in order to force the occupation to end its actions.
Burgon explained that this also means "imposing sanctions on Israel, as the UN General Assembly recently called for.”
The Independent Alliance of MPs—consisting of Jeremy Corbyn, Shockat Adam, Adnan Hussain, Ayoub Khan, and Iqbal Mohamed—criticized the UK government for its complicity in "Israel's" actions.
In an urgent letter to Foreign Secretary David Lammy, the Alliance questioned whether the government truly opposes genocide.
The letter condemned the new Labour leadership for its “100 days of complicity in crimes against humanity" and expressed “disgust over the government’s complicity in one of the greatest crimes in our lifetime.”
The letter follows a horrific aggression by the IOF in which Palestinian refugees were burned alive. The letter detailed the "unimaginable pain and suffering" of the Palestinians as they experienced their last minutes.
It also detailed how Israeli airstrikes targeted a school where 22 people who were awaiting polio vaccines were killed.
Read more: Conditions in Gaza akin to the 'depths of hell': Save the Children
