The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, confirmed he was 'looking at' sanctions against the extreme-right Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, who are serving in Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet. Starmer's response came after the Liberal democrat leader, Ed Davey, asked what actions the government would take after Smotrich said starving 2 million Palestinians in Gaza was 'justified and moral' and Ben-Gvir called Israeli settlers who killed Palestinians in the West Bank 'heroes'. Starmer replied: 'We are looking at that because they’re obviously abhorrent comments … along with other really concerning activity in the West Bank but also across the region'

Source: The Guardian October 16, 2024 17:15 UTC