David Cameron reveals Tories planned to sanction two Israeli ministers

The previous Tory government was preparing to sanction two Israeli ministers over comments encouraging blocking aid to Gaza, David Cameron has said.

Piling pressure on Labour to revive his plans, Lord Cameron said that before the general election he was “working up” sanctions on Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gevir as a way of putting "pressure on Netanyahu" to act within international law.

Mr Smotrich was recently criticised for appearing to suggest it might be “just and moral” to withhold food aid from Gaza, while Mr Ben-Gvir has backed the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank.

The former PM and foreign secretary lashed out at Labour’s decision to suspend some arms sales to Israel, saying it is not in line with the government’s stance of supporting the country’s right to self defence.

Speaking to the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Lord Cameron said: “Before we left office I was working up sanctions on these two ministers, ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gevir, who, when you look at what they say, they have said things like encouraging people to stop aid convoys going into Gaza, they have encouraged extreme settlers in the West Bank with the appalling things they have been carrying out.

"So, actually saying to Netanyahu, ‘yes, we support your right to self-defence, no, we are not going to end the sale of arms, but actually when ministers in your government who are extremists and behave in this way, we are prepared to use our sanctions regime to say this is not good enough and has to stop’."

He urged the current Government to "look again at this sanctions issue" rather than go down the "wrong path" of suspending arms exports.

Asked why the sanctions did not go ahead, Lord Cameron said he had been advised that it would have been "too much of a political act" during the election.

The current Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, has also condemned both men, but declined to commit to sanctioning them when urged to do so during a Commons debate last month.

The Liberal Democrats joined Lord Cameron’s calls for sanctions against "extremist" Israeli ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir

The party’s foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller said the government should enact the measures against the Israeli finance minister and the country’s security minister.

Mr Miller told the Commons: "No-one can be left unmoved by the level of human suffering we have seen recently on our screens; we need immediate ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon more than ever.

"Does the minister agree that now is the time to use our sanctions regime against the extremist ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich?"

Mr Miller also called for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be proscribed.

Foreign minister Anneliese Dodds said: "(Mr Miller) talked about those who have expressed views which are inflammatory or even worse than that, remarks which are appallingly discriminatory, the UK Government has been wholehearted in its condemnation of those remarks.

"He asked about sanctions specifically, of course the UK will always keep our sanctions regime closely under review, as he would expect, and we will announce any changes to the House."

As foreign secretary, Lord Cameron repeatedly refused to suspend arms sales to Israel - even after the killing of seven aid workers in an Israeli air strike.

Weeks after taking office, his successor David Lammy announced the suspension of around 30 of the UK’s 350 arms export licences to Israel amid a “clear risk” they could be used to breach international humanitarian law relating to the treatment of Palestinian detainees and the supply of aid to Gaza.

But Mr Lammy and prime minister Sir Keir Starmer have faced calls to go further and suspend all arms sales to Israel. An early day motion tabled by suspended Labour MP Richard Burgon calling for the suspension of all arms sales to Israel and the ending of imports from Israeli settlements has been signed by 46 MPs, including 20 Labour MPs.

Independent MP for Islington North and former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn last week said Israel was using weapons from the UK to “destroy human life in breach of all aspects of international humanitarian law”.

He said: “The answer has to be a political one. Why are we still supplying arms to Israel, knowing full well that those arms in contravention of ICJ rulings are actually being used to bomb civilian targets in Gaza?

“War crimes are being committed before our very eyes on our televisions every night.”