The leaders of the UK, France and Canada have “strongly opposed” the enlargement of Israel’s navy offensive in Gaza, threatening to “take concrete actions” if Israel doesn’t stop its onslaught and carry restrictions on assist provide to the Palestinian enclave.
In a press release launched on Monday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney mentioned additionally they oppose settlement expansions within the occupied West Financial institution. Settler violence has surged within the occupied West Financial institution because the world’s focus has remained on Gaza. Practically 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds displaced in Israeli raids.
The assertion comes weeks after the Netherlands urged the European Union (EU) to overview a commerce settlement with Israel as the federal government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has intensified its bombardment of Gaza amid an assist blockade in place since March 2.
Western international locations backed Israel’s proper to self-defence when Netanyahu’s authorities launched a devastating offensive in Gaza on October 7, 2023. That offensive has killed greater than 53,000 Palestinians and turned huge swathes of Gaza into rubble.
On Tuesday, the EU international coverage chief Kaja Kallas mentioned that Israel has the appropriate to defend itself, however its present actions transcend proportionate self-defence.
So what steps would possibly Western international locations take in opposition to Israel, and has Israel’s newest Gaza onslaught pressured them to vary their place? Here’s what you should know:
What did the UK, France and Canada say?
The international locations’ three leaders criticised Israel’s renewed Gaza offensive, whereas describing the “human struggling” of Palestinians within the coastal enclave as “insupportable”.
Additionally they mentioned that Israel’s announcement of letting some assist in was “wholly insufficient”.
“If Israel doesn’t stop the renewed navy offensive and carry its restrictions on humanitarian assist, we’ll take additional concrete actions in response,” the leaders’ assertion mentioned.
“The Israeli Authorities’s denial of important humanitarian help to the civilian inhabitants is unacceptable and dangers breaching Worldwide Humanitarian Regulation.
“We condemn the abhorrent language used lately by members of the Israeli Authorities, threatening that, of their despair on the destruction of Gaza, civilians will begin to relocate. Everlasting pressured displacement is a breach of worldwide humanitarian regulation.”
The three Western leaders mentioned that whereas they supported Israel’s proper to defend itself following Hamas’s assault on October 7, “this escalation is wholly disproportionate”.
“We is not going to stand by whereas the Netanyahu Authorities pursues these egregious actions,” they mentioned.
On Tuesday, the UK introduced it could droop commerce talks with Israel over the Gaza warfare. It additionally imposed sanctions on settlers and organisations backing violence in opposition to Palestinians within the occupied West Financial institution.
Israel’s conduct in its warfare on Gaza and the federal government’s assist for unlawful settlements is “damaging our relationship together with your authorities”, mentioned British Overseas Secretary David Lammy.
My joint assertion with @EmmanuelMacron and @MarkJCarney on the state of affairs in Gaza and the West Financial institution. pic.twitter.com/76vYpB42xf
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) May 20, 2025
Amid intense worldwide stress, Israeli authorities on Monday cleared 9 assist vehicles to enter Gaza, the place harsh restrictions on food and aid have sparked accusations that Israel is utilizing hunger as a weapon of warfare.
Nonetheless, the United Nations’ aid chief Tom Fletcher referred to as the entry of the vehicles a “drop within the ocean”, including that “considerably extra assist have to be allowed into Gaza”.
Fletcher on Tuesday warned that 14,000 Palestinian infants have been susceptible to dying within the subsequent 48 hours if assist doesn’t attain them – a determine he referred to as “completely chilling”. Some half a million people in Gaza, or one in 5 Palestinians, are going through hunger because of the Israeli blockade.
Ravenous Palestinians have resorted to consuming animal feed and flour combined with sand, highlighting acute struggling among the many 2.3 million folks in Gaza.
The UN humanitarian workplace’s spokesman Jens Laerke mentioned on Tuesday that about 100 extra vehicles have been authorised by Israel to enter Gaza.
Shifting their focus to the occupied West Financial institution, the leaders of the UK, France and Canada mentioned they opposed all makes an attempt to broaden Israeli settlements, as they’re “unlawful and undermine the viability of a Palestinian state and the safety of each Israelis and Palestinians”.
“We is not going to hesitate to take additional motion, together with focused sanctions,” they mentioned.
Yara Hawari, co-director of Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Coverage Community, says the assertion by the UK, Canada, and France is “reflective of states eager to backtrack and try to cowl up their complicity”, highlighting that the state of affairs in Gaza is the “worst that it has ever been” and that “the genocide is reaching new ranges of cruelty and inhumaneness”.
“They’ll level to the assertion and say, you understand, properly, we did … rise up in opposition to it,” Hawari advised Al Jazeera, including that none have stopped arms gross sales to Israel.
Hawari particularly referenced the UK’s position, saying it was “notably complicit on this”. “There are experiences popping out on daily basis on what number of weapons have been transferred from the UK to Israel over the course of the final 19 months,” she mentioned.
What else have Western nations mentioned?
Sweden’s Overseas Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard mentioned on Tuesday that her nation will push for EU sanctions in opposition to Israeli ministers due to inadequate steps to guard civilians in Gaza.
“Since we don’t see a transparent enchancment for the civilians in Gaza, we have to elevate the tone additional. We’ll subsequently now additionally push for EU sanctions in opposition to particular person Israeli ministers,” Stenergard mentioned in a press release.
French Overseas Minister Jean-Noel Barrot demanded that Israel’s “blind violence” and blockade of humanitarian help should come to an finish.
On Monday, 24 international locations, overwhelmingly European ones, issued a joint statement saying Israel’s choice to permit a “restricted restart” of assist operations in Gaza have to be adopted by a whole resumption of unfettered humanitarian help.
It was signed by the international ministers of nations together with Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the UK.
In the meantime, the European Union’s prime diplomat, Kallas, has determined to order a overview of the EU-Israel Affiliation Settlement, a free commerce deal between the 2 areas.
Kallas advised Al Jazeera that the Netherlands earlier this month had sought overview of the Affiliation Settlement, notably Article 2 – which states that each events should respect human rights.
The transfer has been backed by different member states, together with Belgium, France, Portugal and Sweden.
Robert Patman, a professor of worldwide relations on the College of Otago in New Zealand, says the latest criticism emanating from Western capitals was partly resulting from public stress.
“I feel there’s a way that in liberal democracies, they’ll’t finally be detached to public concern concerning the state of affairs … I feel one other issue is a notion amongst many international locations that [US President Donald] Trump himself is getting impatient with the Netanyahu authorities,” he advised Al Jazeera.
Patman defined that with many international locations within the World South having skilled colonialism earlier than, they have been faster than the West to sentence Israel’s actions.
“They’ve a historical past of getting to battle for their very own political self-determination, and given that have, they’ll empathise with the Palestinians who’ve been denied the appropriate,” he mentioned.
How has Israel responded?
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Monday criticised Carney, Macron and Starmer following their joint assertion.
“By asking Israel to finish a defensive warfare for our survival earlier than Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are providing an enormous prize for the genocidal assault on Israel on 7 October whereas inviting extra such atrocities,” he posted on X.
By asking Israel to finish a defensive warfare for our survival earlier than Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottowa and Paris are providing an enormous prize for the genocidal assault on Israel on October 7 whereas inviting extra…
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 19, 2025
In the meantime, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich lashed out on the three leaders, saying his nation “is not going to bow its head earlier than this ethical hypocrisy, antisemitism, and one-sidedness”.
In a publish on X, Smotrich accused the three international locations of “morally aligning themselves with a terrorist organisation”.
Particularly, Smotrich took subject with the three international locations saying they’re “dedicated to recognising a Palestinian state”.
“They’ve gone as far as to hunt to reward terrorism by granting it a state,” he mentioned.
Netanyahu’s authorities and his far-right coalition companions have been vocal in opposition to the realisation of a sovereign Palestinian state regardless of broad worldwide assist for the so-called two-state resolution.
What’s ‘Operation Gideon’s Chariot’?
This main floor offensive, launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip on Sunday, got here after days of intense bombardment that killed tons of of Palestinians.
Since Sunday, greater than 200 folks have been killed in a relentless wave of strikes.
Main hospitals, together with the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, have been rendered nonoperational after assaults by Israeli forces. Medical professionals mentioned it might result in the deaths of hundreds of sick and wounded folks.
With the backing of Israel’s deadly air drive, the operation is focusing on each southern and northern Gaza.
The Israeli navy mentioned the offensive was launched to broaden “operational management” within the Gaza Strip. Israel says its marketing campaign additionally goals to free the remaining captives held in Gaza and defeat Hamas.
Nonetheless, Netanyahu has been repeatedly criticised by segments of Israeli society, together with captives’ households, for failing to prioritise their return. He has additionally rejected Hamas’s gives to finish the warfare and free the captives.
How will the Western actions influence Israel, and what’s subsequent?
Andreas Krieg, senior lecturer on the College of Safety Research at King’s School London, mentioned that the threats from the UK, France and Canada in opposition to Israel set a precedent for different Western governments to emulate.
“Whereas it is not going to have a direct influence on Israel’s behaviour on the bottom, it widens the boundaries of discourse internationally and makes it simpler for different governments to brazenly stand in opposition to Israeli atrocities,” he advised Al Jazeera.
“Key to a change of behaviour in Israel, nonetheless, stays america,” he mentioned. The US provides the majority of arms to Israel in addition to offering diplomatic cowl on the United Nations.
“But, there’s a tangible erosion of consensus at play internationally as to the notion of Israel, which taints Israel more and more as a rogue actor,” Krieg mentioned.
Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, advised Al Jazeera that the “primary” factor the three international locations might do was impose an arms embargo on Israel. “The UK has taken some measures to droop some arms exports. It’s not sufficient. It’s got to be full and complete,” he mentioned.
Zomlot additionally mentioned that the states ought to act to make sure that “warfare criminals” have been “held accountable”. “They have to completely assist our efforts on the Worldwide Prison Courtroom and the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice,” he mentioned.
Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant face ICC arrest warrant for warfare crimes, however some European nations have mentioned that they received’t arrest them.
Francesca Albanese, the UN’s particular rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, questioned how the threatened sanctions can be focused.
“Focusing on whom? That you must impose sanctions on the state. It’s not concerning the prime minister. That is the complete authorities enterprise,” she advised Al Jazeera.
Krieg from King’s School London says the reputational harm will have an effect on Israel far past the present warfare in Gaza.
“Will probably be troublesome to construct consensus sooner or later across the narrative that Israel is an ‘ally’ as a result of it’s ‘the one democracy within the Center East’,” he advised Al Jazeera.
