Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that Israel provided the United Kingdom with intelligence about an alleged Iran-sponsored attack shortly before Britain imposed sanctions targeting trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu said Israel had warned British officials about the alleged attack before facing what he described as an almost immediate response from London.
“We gave the British information that there would be an attack, and it is an Iran-sponsored attack, and almost the next day they sanctioned us,” Netanyahu said.
The sanctions referenced by Netanyahu concern measures announced by the UK against trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has described Israel’s plans to build around 1,200 homes as part of the E1 expansion project in the West Bank as “unacceptable and destructive,” warning that such developments could undermine prospects for a two-state solution.
In the same remarks, Netanyahu accused the British government of engaging in what he called “anti-Israel propaganda,” describing the allegation as “absurd.”
When announcing the sanctions in Parliament last month, Lammy said the UK would continue its broader trade relationship with Israel and defended Israel’s right to self-defense following Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attacks, which he described as “atrocious terrorism.”
At the same time, the British foreign secretary criticized Israel’s military campaign in Gaza over its impact on civilians, arguing that Israel’s right to defend itself “cannot justify what has happened in Gaza.”
Lammy told the House of Commons that more than 70,000 people had been killed in Gaza, including at least 20,000 children, according to figures cited in his remarks.
“I fear that the people of Gaza are experiencing a wholly avoidable humanitarian catastrophe, driven by decisions made by the Israeli government,” Lammy said.
Netanyahu’s latest comments appear to be part of a broader dispute between the Israeli and British governments over Israel’s policies in the West Bank and its military operations in Gaza, as well as London’s approach to sanctions and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
