Aysu Bicer
20 May 2025•Update: 20 May 2025
LONDON
The UK on Tuesday issued its strongest condemnation yet of Israeli attacks on Gaza and the occupied West Bank, calling the humanitarian crisis in Gaza “abominable” and announcing a formal pause to free trade talks with Israel.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Foreign Secretary David Lammy described Israel’s ongoing military campaign as “dangerous, repellent, and monstrous.”
He warned that Israel’s stated policy of allowing only “just enough to prevent hunger” into Gaza amounted to a deliberate starvation strategy.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu says that they’re going to take control of the strip, letting only minimal amounts of food reach Gazans. Madam deputy speaker, I quote Mr. Netanyahu. He says ‘just enough to prevent hunger’,” Lammy told MPs.
“It’s morally unjustifiable. It’s disproportionate, it’s utterly, utterly counterproductive.”
‘Netanyahu, end this blockade now'
The foreign secretary warned that Israeli army tactics would not defeat Hamas but would “leave a generation orphaned and traumatized, ready for Hamas to recruit.”
He said Britain had persistently urged Israel to “change course” since the resumption of strikes on Gaza. “We have made clear that Israel’s actions are intolerable,” he said.
"We urge (the) Netanyahu government ... history will judge you, blocking aid, expanding the war. This is indefensible, and it must stop. Prime Minister Netanyahu, end this blockade now," he said.
"We will continue to act against those carrying out heinous abuses of human rights,' he added.
New sanctions on 3 Israeli settlers
Lammy also announced new sanctions on three Israeli settlers, including prominent activist Daniella Weiss, along with two illegal outposts and two groups accused of inciting violence against Palestinians.
The sanctions include financial restrictions and travel bans.
They come in response to what he called a “dramatic surge” in settler attacks – over 1,800 since this January, according to UN figures.
'I have seen for myself the consequences of settler violence'
“I have seen for myself the consequences of settler violence. The fear of its victims. The impunity of its perpetrators,” Lammy said. “The sanctioning of [illegal settler]
Daniella Weiss and others today demonstrates our determination to hold extremist settlers to account.”
The UK government also formally suspended negotiations on a new free trade agreement with Israel.
“It is not possible to advance discussions on a new, upgraded FTA with a Netanyahu government that is pursuing egregious policies in the West Bank and Gaza,” Lammy said, though existing trade agreements remain in force.
Hamish Falconer, minister for the Middle East, summoned Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely to the Foreign Office over the latest escalation.
In a statement, Falconer condemned the “wholly disproportionate escalation of military activity in Gaza” and the 11-week aid blockade, calling it “cruel and indefensible.”
“Israel must abide by its obligations under International Humanitarian Law and ensure full, rapid, safe, and unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza. The limited amount of aid entering is simply not enough,” Falconer said.
Lammy also reiterated demands for an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of hostages by Hamas, stressing that “a path to a two-state solution is the only way to ensure the long-term peace and security of both Palestinians and Israelis.”
