On Tuesday, 20 May 2025, the United Kingdom imposed extensive sanctions on key figures and organisations within Israel's settler movement, while simultaneously announcing the immediate suspension of free trade agreement negotiations with the Israeli government. The measures target three individuals, including prominent settler leader Daniella Weiss, alongside two illegal outposts and two organisations supporting violence against Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank.
The sanctions package represents the UK's most significant diplomatic response to escalating settler violence, with the UN recording over 1,800 attacks by settlers against Palestinian communities since January 2024. Foreign Secretary David Lammy specifically highlighted the sanctioning of 79-year-old Daniella Weiss, widely regarded as the "godmother" of Israel's settler movement and leader of the radical organisation Nachala. The sanctions impose asset freezes, travel bans, and director disqualifications on the designated individuals and entities, following 18 other sanctions already implemented against those involved in West Bank violence.
Concurrent with these targeted measures, the UK government has formally paused negotiations on an upgraded free trade agreement with Israel, citing the Netanyahu government's "egregious policies in the West Bank and Gaza." This decision follows Israel's launch of Operation Gideon's Chariot, a new extensive ground operation involving five Israeli divisions across Gaza, which has severely restricted humanitarian aid access to the territory. Foreign Secretary Lammy condemned Israeli Minister Smotrich's recent statements about "cleansing" Gaza and relocating Palestinian residents to third countries, describing such rhetoric as "extremism" that is "dangerous," "repellent," and "monstrous." The UK has maintained its position that while Israel has the right to defend itself following the October 7 attacks, the current military operations are "morally unjustifiable, wholly disproportionate and utterly counter-productive."
These unprecedented measures signal a fundamental shift in UK-Israel relations under the current government, reflecting growing international isolation of Israeli policies in both Gaza and the West Bank. The sanctions and trade suspension represent the UK's strongest diplomatic rebuke of Israeli actions since the conflict began, demonstrating that continued settlement expansion and restrictions on humanitarian aid have crossed red lines for Britain's traditionally supportive stance toward Israel.