David Cameron has told Sky News he planned to sanction two Israeli ministers while in government but “ran out of time” – as Sir Keir Starmer said he was considering the move over their “abhorrent” comments.
In an interview with Kay Burley, the former foreign secretary called on Sir Keir to “find a way” to penalise Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Mr Smotrich has been criticised for suggesting it might be “just and moral” to withhold food aid from Gaza, while Mr Ben-Gvir has backed the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank.
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Lord Cameron said he had been looking at imposing the sanctions himself before the general election.
He told Sky News he believed the move to put pressure on Israel was a “better option” than a partial arms embargo, which Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced in September.
Lord Cameron said: “I was looking at the things we could do to say to the Israelis we back your right to self-defence… but at the same time, we do want you to try and obey… humanitarian law.
“And these two ministers are people who have tried, they’ve encouraged you, to stop aid getting into Gaza and encouraged the extreme settlers in the West Bank to carry out illegal acts.
“So it seemed to me it was worth looking at whether we could sanction these two individual ministers.”
Lord Cameron said he ultimately didn’t enact the measures because he was advised “that it was quite a political act in the wrong direction”, adding that “we sort of ran out of time”.
“I mention it because we now have 100 days of the new government, and it seems to me looking at that is actually a better option than what they’ve done in terms of the partial arms embargo on Israel, because we do back Israel’s right to self-defence,” he said.
You can watch Kay Burley’s full interview with David Cameron on Sky News from 6am on Thursday.
Sir Keir told MPs earlier on Wednesday that he was “looking at” the option of sanctioning the two Israeli ministers.
The PM said Mr Smotrich and Mr Ben-Gvir had made “abhorrent” comments about the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
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“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire,” he added.
“The death toll has passed 42,000 and access to basic services is becoming much harder.
“Israel must take all possible steps to avoid civilian casualties, to allow aid into Gaza in much greater volumes, and provide the UN humanitarian partners the ability to operate effectively.”
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Reacting to the prime minister’s comments, Mr Ben-Gvir told Israeli media that “just as before the establishment of the Jewish state the British worked to make it impossible, now they continue to do so after its establishment in the midst of an existential war”.
He said “the days of the British Mandate” – which saw the UK govern what was then Mandatory Palestine – “are over”.
Itamar Ben-Gvir (centre) issued a response to Sir Keir Starmer’s comments. File pic: Reuters
Mr Ben-Gvir added: “They do not scare me, and I will continue to act in accordance with the supreme national interests of the state of Israel only and for the people of the country.”
The UK government has announced a fresh wave of sanctions in response to violence by “extremist Israeli settlers” in the West Bank.
The measures target three outposts and four organisations that have supported and perpetrated “heinous abuses of human rights” against Palestinian communities in the occupied territory, Mr Lammy said.
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The UK has also called an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council as the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza deteriorates.
Mr Lammy said access to basic services is “worsening” and the UN has reported “barely any food has entered in the last two weeks”.
