UK Prime Minister Designate Pledges to Impose Sanctions on Israel

London – Agencies: Promises by the expected British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, to impose additional sanctions on Israel, along with his criticism of the Labour Party’s stance on the war in Gaza during Keir Starmer’s leadership, have sparked widespread condemnation from prominent Jewish organizations and party figures. In his first major appearance on foreign policy, Burnham apologized for the previous Labour leadership’s handling of the Gaza war, stating in an interview with The Guardian that the party failed to take the right position and should have called for a ceasefire earlier in the conflict.

Burnham said, “I know that many feel my party was wrong in its position at the start of the Israeli military operations in Gaza, and I apologize for that. The response was often below the expected standard, and we must do better.”

Immediately, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council, two of the UK’s leading Jewish organizations, launched a sharp critique of Burnham’s remarks. In a joint statement, they confirmed they had directly conveyed their deep concern about his recent positions to his team. The statement added that while they welcomed Burnham’s rejection of antisemitism and his affirmation that combating it is not incompatible with criticizing Israeli government policies, addressing the phenomenon requires dealing with all its sources, warning that some political criticism had crossed into levels of hostility toward Jews and Israelis.

Burnham announced that if he takes office next week, Britain would move to impose additional sanctions on Israeli individuals and entities, as well as consider potential trade restrictions, citing growing evidence of war crimes in Gaza. However, he stressed that determining allegations of genocide falls to the relevant international courts.

These remarks have fueled speculation that Burnham is seeking to regain support from segments of left-wing voters who had drifted away from the Labour Party toward the Green Party or the Yew Party led by Jeremy Corbyn, after Starmer initially refused to call for a ceasefire following the October 7, 2023, attacks. According to a poll conducted by Opinium for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in June, two-thirds of Labour voters who later switched their support to the Green Party cited the party’s stance on Gaza as a primary reason for their decision.