TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The UK is prepared to impose sanctions on a number of Israeli ministers, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Defense Minister Israel Katz, as reported by The Times, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, cited from Antara.
Abovementioned ministers are right-wing extremist figures in Israel who often make statements backing the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
A day earlier, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed being "horrified" by the recent military escalation in Gaza.
He called for Israel to halt its onslaught in the enclave and increase the delivery of humanitarian aid to the devastated region due to the violence of the Zionist regime's genocidal war since October 7, 2023.
The British government also summoned Israeli Ambassador to London Tzipi Hotovely to convey that Tel Aviv's actions in Gaza are considered "utterly intolerable."
In addition, London also suspended discussions on a new free trade agreement with Israel.
Last Monday, UK, Canada, and France issued a joint statement opposing the expansion of Israel's military operation in Gaza and called for the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave.
On March 18, Israel launched another attack on Gaza, citing Hamas's resistance movement's rejection of a ceasefire plan proposed by the United States, which ended on March 1.
Earlier that month, Israel also cut off the supply of electricity to a desalination plant in Gaza and banned the entry of humanitarian aid trucks.
Last Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced a new military operation in Gaza called Gideon's Chariots. Israel claimed that the operation aims to completely destroy Hamas.
The European Union and the UK also stated on Tuesday that they would review their trade cooperation agreements with Israel. As reported by France24 and Aljazeera, this decision is based on allegations of human rights violations caused by Israel's blockade of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza.
In London, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in parliament that Israel's policy of blocking aid and "expanding the war" in Gaza "is indefensible."
European countries are increasing pressure on Israel to halt its intensive operations in Gaza and allow more aid to the war-torn region, where rescuers say hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in recent days due to bombings, new ground assaults, and widespread starvation.
The dire humanitarian situation in Gaza has triggered international condemnation, with the European Union stating that it will review its trade cooperation agreements with Israel over allegations of human rights violations following the foreign ministers' meeting on Tuesday.
EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said that the "majority" of its 27 member states who met in Brussels supported this move. Kallas added, "The countries see that the situation in Gaza is untenable... and what we want is to unblock humanitarian aid."
The move aims to determine whether Israel has violated its human rights obligations under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
The Israeli military has carried out brutal attacks on Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 53,600 Palestinian citizens, the majority of whom are women and children.
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