UK snaps trade talks with Israel

The United Kingdom has suspended its free trade talks with Israel and imposed sanctions on settlers over Tel Aviv's "extremism" in Gaza while the European Union, in a similar move, said it would also review relations.

The latest developments came just a day after the UK, along with France and Canada, issued a stern warning to Israel over its military aggression in Gaza. The EU also said it would review its political and economic ties with Israel due to the "catastrophic" situation in Gaza.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced on Tuesday that the UK has suspended negotiations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government on a new free trade agreement. He said it "is not possible to advance these discussions with a government that is pursuing egregious policies in the West Bank and Gaza".

"Yesterday, minister Smotrich even spoke of Israeli forces 'cleansing' Gaza, 'destroying what's left', of resident Palestinians 'being relocated to third countries'. We must call this what it is. It is extremism. It is dangerous. It is repellent. It is monstrous," Lammy told the Parliament, referring to Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said after a meeting in Brussels that the aid that Israel has allowed in is, "of course, welcomed, but it is a drop in the ocean".

"Aid must flow immediately without obstruction and at scale because this is what is needed …. Pressure is necessary to change the situation.

"It is clear from today's discussion that there is a strong majority in favor of the review of Article 2 of our Association Agreement with Israel. So, we will launch this exercise," Kallas added.

Article 2 of the European Union-Israel trade agreement states that relations between the parties, "shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles".

In a post on X, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said it completely rejects the direction taken in the EU statement, which "reflects a total misunderstanding of the complex reality Israel is facing" and blamed Palestinian militant group Hamas for the continuation of Israel's military operations.

It also lamented that both the US initiative to transfer aid without it reaching Hamas, and the recent Israeli decision to facilitate the entry of aid into Gaza had been "ignored".

"We call on the EU to exert pressure where it belongs — on Hamas", the post said.

The Ministerial Committee assigned by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit on Gaza, issued a statement on Tuesday, welcoming the statement from the leaders of the UK, France and Canada.

The committee said it shared the opposition expressed by the three leaders to military operations and the continued assault on the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza.

Furthermore, the committee expressed concerns over Israel's intention to allow "limited aid flow" to the Gaza Strip and its endorsement of a new aid delivery model, "which runs counter to humanitarian principles and international law", and is designed to reinforce control over life-saving and sustaining items "as part of a military strategy".

"Humanitarian aid must never be politicized or militarized, and the committee rejects and condemns Israel's plans to forcibly displace the Palestinian people and annex Palestinian land", said the statement.

The United Nations has also warned that about 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in two days if more aid does not enter the Palestinian enclave.

Conditions deteriorating

Louise Wateridge, spokesperson of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said the agency has enough food in one of its warehouses in Jordan to feed "200,000 people alone for an entire month" but said lifesaving aid "remains out of reach while conditions in Gaza continue to deteriorate".

Israel's office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories said in a post on X that after security inspection, 93 UN trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including flour for bakeries, food for babies, medical equipment, and pharmaceutical drugs were transferred on Tuesday via the Kerem Shalom Crossing into the Gaza Strip.

Ayman Yousef, a professor of international relations at the Arab American University in Jenin, West Bank, told China Daily there is a shift and a breakthrough in current international and regional politics.

"One important observation that we need to keep into consideration is that these sanctions have been imposed by Israel allies and Israel friends in the UK, in Europe and I think at a later stage by the United States — although this is very much a far and remote possibility in the near future," said Yousef.

But he does not think it will impact the military operations in Gaza directly and immediately. Yousef also believes that Israel "might succeed in creating some other alternatives" or might open discussions with some of the EU countries and the United States.

"To some extent, I don't think Israel needs much weapons when it comes to this military operation because still it has strong partnerships, strategic NGOs, strategic partnership with the US but that might push Israel to go for a kind of truce with Hamas or with the military groups in Gaza," said Yousef.

"I think the repercussions and implications are very much wide, but still we have to see the seriousness of these sanctions and the Israeli reactions to them," he added.