UK suspends trade talks with Israel and attacks 'repellent' extremism
Source: The Guardian
UK-Israeli relations have plunged to their worst state for decades after the British foreign secretary, David Lammy, suspended negotiations over a new free trade deal, saying Israel’s cabinet ministers’ calls to “purify Gaza” by expelling Palestinians were repellent, monstrous and extremist.
He also said wider talks about a future bilateral strategic roadmap with Israel were being reviewed.
Lammy condemned Israel’s refusal to allow thousands of aid trucks access to starving Palestinians and said Israel’s treatment of Palestinians was “an affront to the values of the British people” and “incompatible with the principles that underpin the UK-Israeli bilateral relationship”.
At the same time, EU foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels, decided to review the bloc’s trade agreement with Israel after a request from the Dutch foreign minister, Caspar Veldkamp. Seventeen of the 27 states backed the move. The EU is Israel’s biggest trading partner, accounting for 32% of Israel’s total trade in goods in 2024.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/20/uk-suspends-trade-talks-with-israel-repellant-extremism