UK pauses Israeli free trade talks as EU discusses agreement suspension

Britain has paused free trade talks with Israel, summoned its ambassador, and announced further sanctions against West Bank settlers after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was horrified by the military escalation in Gaza.

Simultaneously, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc's Foreign Affairs Council will discuss a Dutch-led move to suspend its free trade association agreement with Israel, signed in 2000.

The Israeli military announced the start of a new military operation last week and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel would take control of the whole of Gaza. Israel has blocked the entry of medical, food and fuel supplies into Gaza since the start of March and international experts have warned of looming famine.

'Affront'

UK foreign minister David Lammy said the offensive was not the way to bring remaining hostages home, called for Israel to end the blockade of aid and condemned what he called "extremism" in some sections of Israel's government.

"We cannot stand by in the face of this new deterioration. It is incompatible with the principles that underpin our bilateral relationship," Lammy told MPs.

"Frankly, it's an affront to the values of the British people. Therefore, today, I'm announcing that we have suspended negotiations with this Israeli government on a new free trade agreement."

In a joint statement with France and Canada on Monday, Britain had condemned the expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza and called for restrictions on aid to be lifted.

The trio said they would take "further concrete actions" should Israel's fresh offensive not cease.

"I want to put on record today that we're horrified by the escalation from Israel," Starmer told parliament on Tuesday.

"We repeat our demand for a ceasefire as the only way to free the hostages, we repeat our opposition to settlements in the West Bank, and we repeat our demand to massively scale up humanitarian assistance into Gaza."

Israel's Foreign Ministry issued a statement, dismissing the UK action, saying that "even prior to today's announcement, the free trade agreement negotiations were not being advanced at all by the current UK government."

It called the sanctions against residents of Judea and Samaria "unjustified, and regrettable." The statement concluded: "The British Mandate ended exactly 77 years ago. External pressure will not divert Israel from its path in defending its existence and security against enemies who seek its destruction."

Britain also sanctioned a number of individuals and groups in the West Bank who it said had been linked with acts of violence against Palestinians.

Britain imposed sanctions on a number of settlers and settler organisations in 2024, targeting individuals and groups which it said had sponsored violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

'Drop in the ocean'

Outside a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told reporters: "The Dutch foreign minister has put forward a proposal to do the review of Article 2 of our association agreement with Israel and we will discuss this.

She added: "Humanitarian aid should reach Gaza as soon as possible. Israel's decision to let some of the aid in is a drop in the ocean. It's welcome, but it's not enough. There are thousands of trucks behind the borders waiting. It is European money that has funded this humanitarian aid, and it has to reach the people."

The remarks by Lammy and Kallas are part of a growing wave of condemnation of Israel by its allies. On Monday, 22 countries, including France, Germany, the UK and Australia, demanded that Israel immediately "allow a full resumption of aid into Gaza" after the partial lifting of its blockade.

The statement said that "food, medicines and essential supplies are exhausted" and that "the population faces starvation". "Gaza's people must receive the aid they desperately need," it added.

The donors' statement also attacked an Israeli plan to replace the previous system of aid distribution in Gaza. It demanded that Israel "enable the UN and humanitarian organisations to work independently and impartially to save lives."

The apparent collective loss of patience from western countries with Israel follows consistent condemnation of the country by China.

Last week China's UN envoy Fu Cong told the UN Security Council "humanitarian assistance must not be weaponized, and the principles of impartiality, independence, and neutrality must be a help at all times." He added: "China urges Israel to immediately cease its military attacks on Gaza." 

Most countries deem Jewish settlements built on land Israel occupied in a 1967 Middle East war as illegal, and their expansion has for decades been among the most contentious issues between Israel, the Palestinians and the international community.

Israel's ground and air war has devastated Gaza, displacing nearly all its 2.3 million residents and killing more than 53,000, according to Gaza health authorities.

Netanyahu has said his country was engaged in a "war of civilization over barbarism" and vowed it would "continue to defend itself by just means until total victory."