British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Minister David Lammy attend a meeting between the United Kingdom and the European Union at Lancaster House in London on May 19, 2025. (Credit: Kin Cheung/AFP.)
On Tuesday, the United Kingdom announced a suspension of its free trade agreement negotiations with Israel and summoned the Israeli ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, in response to the escalating Israeli offensive in Gaza.
The British government also unveiled new sanctions against settlers in the West Bank, measures that Israeli authorities swiftly denounced as "unjustifiable and regrettable."
The escalation in Gaza is "morally indefensible, utterly disproportionate, and counterproductive," stated UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, addressing the House of Commons in a sharp critique of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
"This war is leaving a generation of orphans and traumatized individuals, ripe for recruitment by Hamas," he further commented.
Lammy announced that the UK has "paused the negotiations with the Israeli government on a new free trade agreement" and plans to "reexamine cooperation" with Israel.
"The actions of the Netanyahu government have necessitated this," Lammy asserted, also condemning the behavior of "extremist" settlers in the West Bank.
The UK has imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on three individuals, including Daniella Weiss, a "leading figure among settlers" already targeted by Canada, as well as two organizations.
These entities are accused of having "supported, incited, and encouraged violence" against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to a statement from the Foreign Office.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein accused the UK of harboring an "anti-Israeli obsession" and downplayed the announcements regarding the bilateral trade agreement, indicating that "the free trade agreement negotiations were not at all advanced."
The UK government noted that Israel was its 44th largest trading partner in 2024, with the two countries exchanging £5.8 billion ($6.8 billion) in goods and services last year.
They initiated discussions in 2022 to finalize a free trade agreement.
UK Minister for the Middle East Hamish Falconer announced that Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely would be summoned to protest against the "totally disproportionate military activity escalation in Gaza."
David Lammy reiterated that Israel had suffered a "heinous attack" from Hamas on October 7, 2023, and affirmed the British government's support for Israel's right to defend itself.
He renewed calls for the "immediate and unconditional" release of all Israeli hostages still being held.