{"id":118379,"date":"2025-05-21T00:11:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T00:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/118379\/"},"modified":"2025-05-21T00:11:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T00:11:12","slug":"uk-france-canada-warn-israel-of-sanctions-is-opinion-shifting-on-gaza-israel-palestine-conflict-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/118379\/","title":{"rendered":"UK, France, Canada warn Israel of sanctions: Is opinion shifting on Gaza? | Israel-Palestine conflict News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Canada have \u201cstrongly opposed\u201d the expansion of Israel\u2019s military offensive in Gaza, threatening to \u201ctake concrete actions\u201d if Israel does not cease its onslaught and lift restrictions on aid supply to the Palestinian enclave.<\/p>\n

In a statement released on Monday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said they also oppose settlement expansions in the occupied West Bank. Settler violence has surged in the occupied West Bank as the world\u2019s focus has remained on Gaza. Nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands displaced in Israeli raids.<\/p>\n

The statement comes weeks after the Netherlands urged the European Union (EU) to review a trade agreement with Israel as the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has intensified its bombardment of Gaza amid an aid blockade in place since March 2.<\/p>\n

Western countries backed Israel\u2019s right to self-defence when Netanyahu\u2019s government launched a devastating offensive in Gaza on October 7, 2023. That offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians and turned vast swathes of Gaza into rubble.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that Israel has the right to defend itself, but its current actions go beyond proportionate self-defence.<\/p>\n

So what steps might Western countries take against Israel, and has Israel\u2019s latest Gaza onslaught forced them to change their position? Here is what you need to know:<\/p>\n

What did the UK, France and Canada say?<\/p>\n

The countries\u2019 three leaders criticised Israel\u2019s renewed Gaza offensive, while describing the \u201chuman suffering\u201d of Palestinians in the coastal enclave as \u201cintolerable\u201d.<\/p>\n

They also said that Israel\u2019s announcement of letting some aid in was \u201cwholly inadequate\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response,\u201d the leaders\u2019 statement said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Israeli Government\u2019s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe condemn the abhorrent language used recently by members of the Israeli Government, threatening that, in their despair at the destruction of Gaza, civilians will start to relocate. Permanent forced displacement is a breach of international humanitarian law.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three Western leaders said that while they supported Israel\u2019s right to defend itself following Hamas\u2019s attack on October 7, \u201cthis escalation is wholly disproportionate\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not stand by while the Netanyahu Government pursues these egregious actions,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the UK announced it would suspend trade talks with Israel over the Gaza war. It also imposed sanctions<\/a> on settlers and organisations backing violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s conduct in its war on Gaza and the government\u2019s support for illegal settlements is \u201cdamaging our relationship with your government\u201d, said British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.<\/p>\n

\n

My joint statement with @EmmanuelMacron<\/a> and @MarkJCarney<\/a> on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. pic.twitter.com\/76vYpB42xf<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) May 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Amid intense international pressure, Israeli authorities on Monday cleared nine aid trucks to enter Gaza, where harsh restrictions on food and aid<\/a> have sparked accusations that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war.<\/p>\n

However, the United Nations\u2019 relief chief Tom Fletcher called the entry of the trucks a \u201cdrop in the ocean\u201d, adding that \u201csignificantly more aid must be allowed into Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n

Fletcher on Tuesday warned that 14,000 Palestinian babies were at risk of dying in the next 48 hours if aid doesn\u2019t reach them \u2013 a figure he called \u201cutterly chilling\u201d. Some half a million people in Gaza<\/a>, or one in five Palestinians, are facing starvation due to the Israeli blockade.<\/p>\n

Starving Palestinians have resorted to eating animal feed and flour mixed with sand, highlighting acute suffering among the 2.3 million people in Gaza.<\/p>\n

The UN humanitarian office\u2019s spokesman Jens Laerke said on Tuesday that about 100 more trucks have been approved by Israel to enter Gaza.<\/p>\n

Shifting their focus to the occupied West Bank, the leaders of the UK, France and Canada said they opposed all attempts to expand Israeli settlements, as they are \u201cillegal and undermine the viability of a Palestinian state and the security of both Israelis and Palestinians\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not hesitate to take further action, including targeted sanctions,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

Yara Hawari, co-director of Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network, says the statement by the UK, Canada, and France is \u201creflective of states wanting to backtrack and try and cover up their complicity\u201d, highlighting that the situation in Gaza is the \u201cworst that it has ever been\u201d and that \u201cthe genocide is reaching new levels of cruelty and inhumaneness\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can point to the statement and say, you know, well, we did \u2026 stand up against it,\u201d Hawari told Al Jazeera, adding that none have stopped arms sales to Israel.<\/p>\n

Hawari specifically referenced the UK\u2019s role, saying it was \u201cparticularly complicit in this\u201d. \u201cThere are reports coming out every day on how many weapons have been transferred from the UK to Israel over the course of the last 19 months,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"DisplacedDisplaced Palestinians flee from Khan Younis, Gaza, amid the ongoing Israeli military offensive in the area, on Monday, May 19, 2025. [Abdel Kareem Hana\/AP Photo]
\nWhat else have Western nations said?<\/p>\n

Sweden\u2019s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said on Tuesday that her country will push for EU sanctions against Israeli ministers because of insufficient steps to protect civilians in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince we do not see a clear improvement for the civilians in Gaza, we need to raise the tone further. We will therefore now also push for EU sanctions against individual Israeli ministers,\u201d Stenergard said in a statement.<\/p>\n

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot demanded that Israel\u2019s \u201cblind violence\u201d and blockade of humanitarian assistance must come to an end.<\/p>\n

On Monday, 24 countries, overwhelmingly European ones, issued a joint statement<\/a> saying Israel\u2019s decision to allow a \u201climited restart\u201d of aid operations in Gaza must be followed by a complete resumption of unfettered humanitarian assistance.<\/p>\n

It was signed by the foreign ministers of countries including Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the UK.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the European Union\u2019s top diplomat, Kallas, has decided to order a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a free trade deal between the two regions.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kallas told Al Jazeera that the Netherlands earlier this month had sought review of the Association Agreement, particularly Article 2 \u2013 which states that both parties must respect human rights.<\/p>\n

The move has been backed by other member states, including Belgium, France, Portugal and Sweden.<\/p>\n

Robert Patman, a professor of international relations at the University of Otago in New Zealand, says the recent criticism emanating from Western capitals was in part due to public pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s a sense that in liberal democracies, they can\u2019t ultimately be indifferent to public concern about the situation \u2026 I think another factor is a perception among many countries that [US President Donald] Trump himself is getting impatient with the Netanyahu government,\u201d he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

Patman explained that with many countries in the Global South having experienced colonialism before, they were quicker than the West to condemn Israel\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a history of having to struggle for their own political self-determination, and given that experience, they can empathise with the Palestinians who\u2019ve been denied the right,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"PalestinianPalestinian mourn their relatives who were killed in an Israeli army airstrike at the morgue of Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah on May 20, 2025. [Abdel Kareem Hana\/AP Photo]
\nHow has Israel responded?<\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Monday criticised Carney, Macron and Starmer following their joint statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on 7 October while inviting more such atrocities,\u201d he posted on X.<\/p>\n

\n

By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottowa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Benjamin Netanyahu \u2013 \u05d1\u05e0\u05d9\u05de\u05d9\u05df \u05e0\u05ea\u05e0\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5 (@netanyahu) May 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Meanwhile, Israel\u2019s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich lashed out at the three leaders, saying his country \u201cwill not bow its head before this moral hypocrisy, antisemitism, and one-sidedness\u201d.<\/p>\n

In a post on X, Smotrich accused the three countries of \u201cmorally aligning themselves with a terrorist organisation\u201d.<\/p>\n

In particular, Smotrich took issue with the three countries saying they are \u201ccommitted to recognising a Palestinian state\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have gone so far as to seek to reward terrorism by granting it a state,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu\u2019s government and his far-right coalition partners have been vocal against the realisation of a sovereign Palestinian state despite broad international support for the so-called two-state solution.<\/p>\n

What is \u2018Operation Gideon\u2019s Chariot\u2019?<\/p>\n

This major ground offensive, launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip on Sunday, came after days of intense bombardment that killed hundreds of Palestinians.<\/p>\n

Since Sunday, more than 200 people have been killed in a relentless wave of strikes.<\/p>\n

Major hospitals, including the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, have been rendered nonoperational<\/a> after attacks by Israeli forces. Medical professionals said it could lead to the deaths of thousands of sick and wounded people.<\/p>\n

With the backing of Israel\u2019s lethal air force, the operation is targeting both southern and northern Gaza.<\/p>\n

The Israeli military said the offensive was launched to expand \u201coperational control\u201d in the Gaza Strip. Israel says its campaign also aims to free the remaining captives held in Gaza and defeat Hamas.<\/p>\n

However, Netanyahu has been repeatedly criticised by segments of Israeli society, including captives\u2019 families, for failing to prioritise their return. He has also rejected Hamas\u2019s offers to end the war and free the captives.<\/p>\n

\"JournalistRelatives of journalist Mohammed Amin Abu Dhaka, who was killed in Israeli attack on the town of Abasan al-Kebira, mourn after the body is taken from Nasser Hospital for funeral in Khan Yunis on May 20 [Hani Alshaer\/Anadolu Agency]
\nHow will the Western actions impact Israel, and what\u2019s next?<\/p>\n

Andreas Krieg, senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King\u2019s College London, said that the threats from the UK, France and Canada against Israel set a precedent for other Western governments to emulate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile it will not have a direct impact on Israel\u2019s behaviour on the ground, it widens the boundaries of discourse internationally and makes it easier for other governments to openly stand against Israeli atrocities,\u201d he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

\u201cKey to a change of behaviour in Israel, however, remains the United States,\u201d he said. The US supplies the bulk of arms to Israel as well as providing diplomatic cover at the United Nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet, there is a tangible erosion of consensus at play internationally as to the perception of Israel, which taints Israel increasingly as a rogue actor,\u201d Krieg said.<\/p>\n

Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, told Al Jazeera that the \u201cnumber one\u201d thing the three countries could do was impose an arms embargo on Israel. \u201cThe UK has taken some measures to suspend some arms exports. It\u2019s not enough. It has got to be full and comprehensive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Zomlot also said that the states should act to ensure that \u201cwar criminals\u201d were \u201cheld accountable\u201d. \u201cThey must absolutely support our efforts at the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant face ICC arrest warrant for war crimes, but some European nations have said that they won\u2019t arrest them.<\/p>\n

Francesca Albanese, the UN\u2019s special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, questioned how the threatened sanctions would be targeted.<\/p>\n

\u201cTargeting whom? You need to impose sanctions on the state. It\u2019s not about the prime minister. This is the entire government enterprise,\u201d she told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

Krieg from King\u2019s College London says the reputational damage will affect Israel far beyond the current war in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be difficult to build consensus in the future around the narrative that Israel is an \u2018ally\u2019 because it is \u2018the only democracy in the Middle East\u2019,\u201d he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n