Sanction ‘extremist’ Israeli ministers, Cameron tells Starmer

Former foreign secretary’s call comes as he reveals he had drawn up measures against Netanyahu cabinet hardliners

Lord Cameron has called on the Government to sanction two senior Israeli ministers accused of supporting human rights violations against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.
The call, on Tuesday, came as he revealed in a radio interview that he had drawn up plans to sanction Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, its security minister, when he was foreign secretary.
The former prime minister, who was brought back into government by Rishi Sunak, said he was “concerned” that Sir Keir’s Government had not picked up his plan.
He described the two ministers as “extremists” and said his proposal was only stopped because it was viewed as “too political” ahead of July’s general election.
Kim Johnson, the Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, said that in the light of Lord Cameron’s revelations, the Government now had “no excuses” for not imposing sanctions.
“Has our Government considered plans left by the previous government, and will they press ahead with implementing sanctions and travel bans?” she asked.
Her call was backed up Richard Burgon, the Labour MP for Leeds East, who told The Telegraph: “By imposing sanctions on arms, trade and on Israeli officials, our Government would be sending a clear signal that no nation is above the law.”
Lord Cameron told the BBC’s Today programme that he considered sanctioning the Israeli ministers over comments they had made about preventing aid getting into Gaza and their apparent encouragement of “appalling” settler violence in the West Bank.
“Saying to [Benjamin] Netanyahu: ‘Yes we support your right to self-defence. No, we’re not going to end our sale of arms, but actually when there are ministers in your government who are extremists and act in this way, we’re prepared to use the sanctions regime to say this simply isn’t good enough and has to stop,’” he said.
But while he said Israel should not be given a “blank cheque”, Lord Cameron also criticised the Government for imposing a partial arms embargo on the country.
“Fundamentally, if on one hand you’re protecting Israel from a state-on-state attack by Iran, but at the same time you’re withholding the export of weapons, that policy makes no sense,” he said.
Last month, the Government announced that it had suspended 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel after finding a “clear risk” that the equipment could be used to commit serious violations of international law.
Sir Keir later said he would “never” ban all arms sales to Israel despite pressure to do so from some Labour MPs.
Both Mr Smotrich and Mr Ben-Gvir are viewed as hard-Right figures in Israeli politics and have repeatedly threatened to resign from Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over ceasefire proposals.
Their departures could destroy Mr Netanyahu’s fragile coalition, meaning the Israeli prime minister has relied on the ministers’ backing to stay in power.
Mr Netanyahu believed the pair would resign in August when Israel was close to agreeing to a six-week ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza, according to the Times of Israel.
Both ministers then threatened to quit in September amid reports of a ceasefire with Hezbollah. By the start of October, Israel had changed course and launched a ground invasion of Lebanon.
“The campaign in the north should end with a single result: crushing Hezbollah and elimination of its ability to harm the residents of the north,” said Mr Smotrich.
ActionAid, the poverty charity, also urged the Government to impose sanctions on Israel. “Sanctions are a peaceful way to ensure that Israel’s continuous and possible breaches of international law won’t go unchallenged,” it said.
“As hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza remain cut off from any form of humanitarian assistance, we urge the UK Government not to delay.”
On Wednesday, the Foreign Office announced a new round of sanctions on illegal Israeli outposts in the West Bank, as well as organisations supporting “extremist” Israeli settlers.
It declined to comment on whether it would sanction the two ministers, saying: “The UK strongly condemns settler violence and remarks such as those made by Israel’s national security minister Ben-Gvir, which threaten the status quo of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem. We do not comment on future sanctions designations.”
Downing Street also declined to comment on the possibility of sanctions, but said the Government would “continue to take action to challenge those who undermine a two-state solution”.