Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said that the British government is considering sanctioning two “extremist” Israeli government ministers.
The statement by Starmer came in response to remarks about Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir by Liberal Democrat Party leader Sir Ed Davey at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
Davey attacked Smotrich’s comment in August that it might be “justified and moral” to starve two million people in Gaza.
He also slammed remarks made in the same month by Ben-Gvir, who appeared to defend two settlers accused of killing a 19-year-old Palestinian in village of Burqa near Ramallah in the West Bank.
Davey told MPs that following a visit to Israeli and the West Bank in February: “Having witnessed the damage that these extremist ministers in the Netanyahu government are doing, I called on the last government to sanction them. They refused.” He then urged Starmer to do so.
The prime minister responded that the government was “looking at that” and criticised Smotrich and Ben-Gvir’s comments as “obviously abhorrent”.
Starmer went on to call the humanitarian situation in Gaza “dire”, adding: “The death toll has surpassed 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 volume and provide the UN and humanitarian partners the ability to operate effectively.”
The PM also confirmed that the government would be convening the United Nations Security Council to “address this”.
A statement earlier on Wednesday by Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “The humanitarian situation in Northern Gaza is dire, with access to basic services worsening and the UN reporting that barely any food has entered in the last two weeks … Israel must ensure civilians are protected and ensure routes are open to allow life-saving aid through.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the United States was considering unprecedented steps against Israel – including stopping arms sales – if the humanitarian situation in Gaza did not improve.
On Tuesday, former foreign secretary Lord Cameron revealed to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he had considered sanctions against the two Israeli ministers, whom he called “extremist”, as a way of putting pressure on the Israeli government.
Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, both elected to the Knesset as part of a merger of far-right parties and welcomed into Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, have a history of making provocative comments.
Smotrich, who previously described himself as a “proud homophobe” told a conference in Paris last year that the Palestinian people were “an invention”.
Ben-Gvir, who grew up supporting the extremist Kach movement of Rabbi Meir Kahane, has previously been convicted of incitement to violence.
“I made mistakes, but so many years have passed”, he told a court hearing attempting to disqualify his cabinet appointment last year.
In government, Ben-Gvir has publicly clashed with Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant after the head of Israel’s internal security bureau, the Shin Bet, issued an unprecedented warning about the threats to Israel posed by ultra-nationalist Jewish domestic terrorism.
Gallant condemned his cabinet colleague. He posted on X/Twitter: “In the face of Minister Ben Gvir's irresponsible actions that endanger the national security of the State of Israel and create internal divisions in the nation, the head of Shin Bet and his staff are doing their jobs and warning about the dire consequences of these actions.”
