The former foreign secretary said his department had been working up sanctions against two far-right government ministers…reports Asian Lite News
The government planned to slap sanctions on Israeli ministers with “extreme” views in the dying days of the last Conservative government, David Cameron disclosed Tuesday.
The former foreign secretary said his department had been working up sanctions against two far-right government ministers — Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir — before Cameron’s boss Rishi Sunak called a snap U.K. general election.
“When you look at what they say: they have said things like encouraging people to stop aid convoys getting into Gaza,” Cameron told the BBC Tuesday. “They’ve encouraged extreme settlers in the West Bank with the appalling things they’ve been carrying out.”
Smotrich has called for an increase in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank in order to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Ben-Gvir heads up the nationalist Otzma Yehudit party. He sparked anger over the summer by leading Jewish Israelis to prayer at Jerusalem’s most contested holy site, and has backed Israeli protests against aid convoys reaching Gaza.
But Cameron argued imposing targeted sanctions on specific ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government would be a more effective way to put pressure on the administration over its conduct in Gaza than suspending some arms exports, as Cameron’s Labour successor David Lammy has done.
The ex-U.K. foreign secretary characterized his approach as: “Saying to Netanyahu, yes, we support your right to self defense. No, we’re not going to end the sale of arms. But actually, when ministers in your government who are extremists and behave in this way, we’re prepared to use our sanctions regime to say, this simply isn’t good enough and has to stop.”
Cameron — who served as Britain’s prime minister from 2010-16 —said the sanctions didn’t go ahead because of the U.K. election campaign. “I couldn’t do them during the election period because I think it was too much of a political act was the advice I received,” he said.
As foreign secretary, Cameron insisted Britain’s support for Israel was not “unconditional” and urged the state to abide by international humanitarian law. He also called on Israel to “think with head as well as heart” after it was attacked by Iran in April.
“You should never overemphasize the extent to which you can change the approach of another country. But on the other hand, you should try and maximize your influence where you can,” Cameron said.
Pressed on whether the U.K. might still consider sanctioning top Israeli ministers, a spokesperson for No.10 Downing Street said Tuesday: “I can’t get into any commentary around future sanctions designations.
“As you know the U.K. has already sanctioned a number of people responsible for settler violence in the West Bank, and we’ll continue to take action to challenge those who undermine the two state solution.”
They added: “We keep all sanctions under review.”
Govt sanctions entities in West Bank
The Foreign Secretary has announced sanctions in response to continued violence by extremist Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
Today’s measures target 3 settler outposts and 4 organisations that have supported, incited and promoted violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. Settler violence often seeks to force Palestinians to leave their homes, and seize their land for the construction of outposts, which are illegal under both international and Israeli law.
The measures follow an unprecedented rise in settler violence in the West Bank over the last year, with the UN recording over 1,400 attacks by settlers against Palestinian communities since October 2023.
The month of October sees the beginning of the olive harvest in the West Bank, an important time both culturally and economically for Palestinians. It has traditionally suffered spikes in violence as organised settler groups disrupt and attack Palestinians.
The measures taken today are part of wider UK efforts to support a more stable West Bank, which is vital for the peace and security of both Palestinians and Israelis.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said, “When I went to the West Bank earlier this year, on one of my first trips as Foreign Secretary, I met with Palestinians whose communities have suffered horrific violence at the hands of Israeli settlers. The inaction of the Israeli government has allowed an environment of impunity to flourish where settler violence has been allowed to increase unchecked. Settlers have shockingly even targeted schools and families with young children. Today’s measures will help bring accountability to those who have supported and perpetrated such heinous abuses of human rights. The Israeli government must crack down on settler violence and stop settler expansion on Palestinian land. As long as violent extremists remain unaccountable, the UK and the international community will continue to act.”
The illegal settler outposts sanctioned today – Tirzah Valley Farm Outpost, Meitarim Outpost, and Shuvi Eretz Outpost – have been involved in facilitating, inciting, promoting or providing support for activity that amounts to a serious abuse of the right of Palestinians not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva is a religious school embedded in the Yitzhar settlement known to promote violence against non-Jewish people. Hashomer Yosh is a non-governmental organisation that provides volunteers for illegal outposts, including Meitarim Outpost (also sanctioned today). Meitarim was founded by the extremist settler Yinon Levy, who the UK sanctioned in February. Torat Lechima is a registered Israeli charity that has been documented as providing financial support to illegal settler outposts linked with acts of violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
Amana operates in practice as a commercial construction company. Amana has overseen the establishment of illegal outposts and provides funding and other economic resources for Israeli settlers involved in threatening and perpetrating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
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