LONDON: The UK foreign secretary has suggested that Israel’s defense minister could be sanctioned over plans to relocate Gaza’s population into a camp in the south of the territory.
Israel Katz told Israeli media last week that he wanted to establish what he described as a “humanitarian city” amid the ruins of Rafah to initially house 600,000 people.
Those entering the camp would be screened to ensure they were not Hamas members, and would not be allowed to leave. The aim would be to move the entire population of Gaza — more than 2 million people — inside the zone.
The plans have been widely condemned, with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees describing the proposed site as a “concentration camp” that would deprive Palestinians of their homeland.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the International Development Committee on Wednesday that he condemned the “unconscionable” plans in the strongest terms.
Asked whether he would consider sanctions against Katz similar to those imposed by the UK against Israel’s far-right government ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich last month, Lammy said he could not comment on sanctions that are under consideration.
“But you have heard my statement about what has been said by minister Katz and you will have heard my statements previously about ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir and then the subsequent decision that I took.
“No defense minister should be talking about effectively holding people, unable to leave, presumably, in the manner in which he described,” Lammy added.
The UK government is coming under increased pressure, including from within its own ranks, to take further action against Israel amid daily reports of atrocities in Gaza.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday said he was “appalled” by further reports of civilians being killed in the enclave, “particularly when they are trying to access aid.”
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by gunfire in recent weeks as they attempted to access aid distributed by the widely criticized Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is run by the US and Israel.
“Each of those incidents does need to be fully and transparently investigated,” Starmer said.
But the prime minister has been accused by his own MPs of not taking a sufficiently tough stance against Israel for its actions in Gaza, where more than 58,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in 2023.
Labour MP Imran Hussain angrily asked Starmer in parliament on Wednesday “how many more horrors must we witness” before the prime minister imposes against Israel the same scale of sanctions that the UK has placed on Russia for its Ukraine invasion.
Last week, almost 60 Labour MPs sent a letter to Lammy responding to Katz’s Gaza plans in which they demanded the UK immediately recognize Palestine as a state, The Guardian reported.
“By not recognizing (Palestine) as a state, we undermine our own policy of a two-state solution and set an expectation that the status quo can continue and see the effective erasure and annexation of Palestinian territory,” the MPs warned.
Asked again on Wednesday whether the UK would recognize Palestinian statehood, Lammy insisted the “symbolic” action needed to be “part of a process,” including the agreement of a ceasefire.
During a state visit to the UK last week, French President Emmanuel Macron urged Starmer to recognize Palestine in tandem with France. He said the move would initiate a political momentum which is “the only path to peace.”
France has suggested it will go ahead with recognition during an international UN conference on a two-state solution later this month. It is co-hosting the event with Saudi Arabia at the UN headquarters in New York with the aim of adopting concrete measures toward implementation of a two-state solution.
