Middle East minister Hamish Falconer has confirmed the UK government would consider imposing sanctions of Palestinian politicians found engaging in incitement to violence and antisemitic rhetoric.
The Conservative MP Greg Smith was greeted with cries of “shame” from some on the Labour and other opposition party backbenches as he demanded to know where were the sanctions against “ministers within the Palestinian Authority who have incited violence and made vile comments of hatred against Jews and Israelis”.
Falconer, who gave a statement on Tuesday in the Commons on the government’s move to level sanctions against Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, responded to Smith by saying:”The Honorable Gentlemen is right, the thresholds and the tests are the same.
“We condemn antisemitic rhetoric, we condemn incitement to violence.
“I won’t speculate on further sanctions on either side of the conflict from this dispatch box.”
Smith also told the Commons he had “no sympathy” himself with the comments and rhetoric of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir .
Hamish Falconer speaks during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Earlier Falconer said sanctions against Israeli ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich show that the Government “will not sit by” while the prospect of peace is under threat. UK confirms sanctions against Ben-Gvir and Smotrich
He told the Commons: “The appalling rhetoric has continued unchecked. Violent perpetrators continue to act with impunity and with encouragement, so let me tell the House now – when we say something, we mean it.
“Today, we have shown, with our partners, two extremists that we will not sit by while they wreck the prospects of future peace.
“Our actions today do not diminish our support for the security of Israel and the Israeli people. The agendas of these two men are not even supported by a majority of Israelis.”
Responding to the statement, shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said the situation in the Middle East is “serious and completely intolerable”, and noted that the previous Conservative government also considered sanctioning these Israeli ministers.
She said: “The situation in the Middle East and the suffering we are seeing is serious and completely intolerable.
“We continue to see violence, deaths and casualties, and near aid distribution centres, which is simply incomprehensible and that should simply never happen.
“Britain has continued to leverage its influence at every opportunity, with Israel and with our international allies, to change the course of events that the world is witnessing, to ensure that the remaining hostages are released, that aid reaches those who need it and that a sustainable end of this conflict is achieved.
“We all want to see a better future for the Israeli and Palestinian people, and the UK must continue to play a leading role in achieving this.”
Priti Patel speaks at CFI reception
Asked by Dame Priti for his “honest assessment” of the UK-Israeli relationship, Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer said he “regrets the tone” of some of their exchanges.
Falconer said: “We have spoken to the Israeli government directly today.
“(Dame Priti) invites me to comment on the state of the relationship between the UK and Israel. The state of disagreement, I think, is clear.
“I regret the tone of some of our exchanges, most recently.
“We do not wish to have such a profound disagreement with the Israeli government, but as the Minister for the Middle East, when we do disagree as profoundly as we do, then I’m afraid I have to say so, both publicly and privately, and that is what I have done.”
Falconer faced calls for the UK to recognise a Palestinian state at a conference with France on Saudi Arabia later this month. He said he would be updating the Commons on the government’s stance at the conference in New York, but stressed his belief in a two-state solution.
Two of the loudest calls for recognition of Palestine came from the Tory MPs Sir Roger Gale and Mark Pritchard.
The two-state solution between Israel and Palestine is in critical danger, the Government has said, as a minister said promises of “tougher action” were now being carried out.
Foreign Office minister Falconer added: “The two-state solution is in peril, the catastrophic conflict in Gaza, and a shocking deterioration in the West Bank. This is an affront to the rights of Palestinians, but it is also against the interests of Israelis, against their long-term security and democracy.”
He continued: “The gravity of this situation demands further action. The reality is that these human rights abuses, incitement to violence, extremist rhetoric comes … from individuals who are ministers in this Israeli government.”
Earlier Labour Friends of Israel said they backed the government’s decision to sanction the two ministers.
They said:”We welcome the decision to impose sanctions on Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
“Their agenda is antithetical to the values of equality and democracy set out in Israel’s Declaration of Independence. ”
Yachad UK also supported the move posting on X: “We wholeheartedly support the UK gov decision to sanction these extremist ministers.
“Last year hundreds of British Jews & Israelis in the UK wrote to the British PM calling for Ben Gvir & Smotrich to be sanctioned.”
