The United Kingdom is considering sanctions against two far-right Israeli ministers, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Wednesday.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Starmer said the government is “looking at” potential sanctions against Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
This response came after Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey cited inflammatory remarks from the two ministers. Smotrich had suggested that “starving two million people in Gaza might be justified and moral,” while Ben-Gvir reportedly referred to settlers who killed a 19-year-old in the West Bank as “heroes.”
“Will the prime minister now sanction ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich?” Davey asked.
Starmer replied: “We are looking at that, because those are obviously abhorrent comments, as [Davey] rightly says, along with other deeply concerning actions in the West Bank and across the region. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire.”
Starmer added that the UK, along with France, has called for an urgent United Nations Security Council meeting to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He emphasized, “Israel must take all possible steps to avoid civilian casualties, allow much greater aid into Gaza, and ensure that UN humanitarian partners can operate effectively.”
In response, Ben-Gvir criticized the UK, saying the British “must realize that the days of the mandate are over,” referring to British control of the region after World War I. He added, “Just as before the establishment of the Jewish state, the British worked to prevent it, now they continue to do so in the midst of a war for our existence.”
Smotrich echoed the sentiment, stating that while Britain’s mandate in the region is over, “the same one-sidedness and hypocrisy remain.”
