The British government said it would suspend neo-free trade negotiations with Israel due to its military operations in Gaza, in which hundreds of Palestinians were killed in the bombing, launching a new ground attack, starvation widespread.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy spoke in parliament on Tuesday that the UK was imposing other sanctions on illegal Israeli settler posts in the occupied West Bank, while Israeli ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, has also been summoned to foreign offices.
Kaja Kallas, the group's foreign policy head, said on Tuesday that this was because the EU voted to review a trade cooperation agreement with Israel.
The operation took place in Britain, France and Canada condemned Israel's handling of the Gaza war and the attacks and attacks on the West Bank.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday raised his sharp criticism of Israel, saying the degree of suffering of Gaza in Gaza is "totally intolerable" and repeated calls for a ceasefire.
As Israeli military-backed settler violence against Palestinians has been supported in recent months, Rami said the ongoing cycle of violence in Israeli settlers in the West Bank demands action.
He added that in addition to previous sanctions, the UK now imposes sanctions on another group that “three people, two illegal settlers’ posts and two groups that support violence against the Palestinian community.”
He said the existing trade agreement between Britain and Israel is still in effect, but the Israeli government, which has "serious policies" in Gaza and the West Bank, cannot hold new discussions.
"It is the responsibility of the Israeli government to intervene and stop these positive actions," Rami said. "Their consistent actions failed to put the Palestinian community and the two-state solution at risk."
Lammy added that British Central and Eastern Minister Hamish Falconer will also tell Israel's ambassador to the UK Hotovely that "the 11-week aid to Gaza is cruel and irrefutable".
Israel promptly condemned the UK's decision: "Even before the announcement today, no current negotiations on the UK government's free trade agreement were proposed," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry called the British sanctions “unreasonable and regrettable”.
The Labor government has been severely criticized at home for not saying or doing enough support to support Palestinians facing hunger in besieged Gaza amidst constant fires. Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters march weekly in the UK.
Labour MP Zarah Sultana accused the Starmer administration of being "co-conspirators" in the "collective punishment movement for innocence."
She told Al Jazeera: “Families have been eliminated and the entire community has been reduced to rubble, as well as basic services such as food, water and electricity that are deliberately targeted.
"This is not a tragic war accident. It is a predictable outcome of a collective punishment movement for impunity... Britain's failure to act is not only a moral shame, but a political choice."
Jeremy Corbyn, a former Labor leader and independent MP, also told Al Jazeera that “one way the government can stop complicit in genocide” is to “end military cooperation with Israel and impose sanctions”.
Although the Labor government suspended some arms export permits to Israel, it was an exception to the F-35 fighter program, citing its obligations to international supply chains.
Meanwhile, reports from the Palestinian Youth Movement, Progress International and Free Palestinian workers revealed that earlier this month, Britain issued “8,630 independent ammunition” since some weapons were suspended in September.
Although some arms embargoes were banned in September, between October and December 2024, £127.6 million ($171 million) of military equipment was approved to obtain a single license from Israel, according to data released by the British government on Thursday.
Last week, a high court case was filed challenging the UK's handling of arms export controls on Israel.
Gearoid O Cuinn, founding director of the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), has put the British government in court for the sale of weapons, told Al Jazeera that the government's decision to suspend future trade deals "has nothing to do with the direct disaster in Gaza".
“This is not a future trade deal that promotes killing and starving children,” he said. “It is an ongoing supply of British weapons and military support.”
As international pressure intensifies the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the European Commission has reviewed its trade agreement with Israel in response to the “catastrophic” situation in Gaza.
The EU's foreign policy director Kaja Kallas said that at the EU's foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, the "majority" supported a review of the alliance association agreement with Israel.
The move is intended to determine whether Israel violates Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot welcomed the decision by addressing the parliament and said 17 of the EU's 27 member states supported the proposal.
Karas also confirmed that EU sanctions against violent Israeli settlers have been drafted but are still blocked by a member state, and she has not named it.
"The aid allowed by Israel is certainly welcomed by IS," Karas said. "But it is a drop in the ocean. Aid must flow immediately without hindering because it is needed."