British parliamentarians urge prime minister to impose sanctions on Israel

ISTANBUL

Around 96 British parliamentarians called for sanctions against Israel and expressed their concern over "relentless violence" against Palestinians.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the parliamentarians called for targeted sanctions, a trade ban with illegal Israeli settlements, and the suspension of the Trade and Partnership Agreement between the UK and Israel, a press statement by The Council for Arab-British Understanding said.

"We write to express our grave concern over the relentless violence against Palestinians throughout the Occupied Palestinian territory and urge the United Kingdom to respond to Israel’s widespread and systematic violations of international law," the letter says.

Parliamentarians think that recent British decisions to sanction Israeli settler organizations linked to human rights abuses “fall short of what is needed.”

The UK's "continued diplomatic and economic transactions and ties with Israeli institutions and settler organizations” risk complicity in Israeli violations of international law, according to the letter.

The letter further reiterates the need to sanction state officials and "introduce sanctions in respect of the State of Israel," along with sanctions on individual settlers.

They also think that the UK has the legal right to suspend or terminate the provisions of the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement.

"This letter shows that there is increasing parliamentary support for the UK to take tougher action against Israel," the Council for Arab-British Understanding’s head of parliamentary affairs, Joseph Willits, further said.

The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.