Israeli opposition politicians have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of pushing Israel into unprecedented international isolation following the United Kingdom’s decision to impose sanctions related to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid described the British measures as “wrong” but directed his strongest criticism at Netanyahu’s government, accusing it of leading Israel “into unprecedented diplomatic isolation.” According to Lapid, the government was responding to international pressure with little more than “rebukes and threats that no one takes seriously.” Gilad Kariv, a Knesset member from the left-wing Democrats party, similarly blamed Israel’s far-right coalition for the British sanctions, citing the government’s policies concerning Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. Kariv said Netanyahu’s government was steering Israel toward “international isolation” and described the prime minister as politically “leprous” on the international stage.
Former attorney-general backs UK measures Michael Ben-Yair, a former Israeli attorney-general, went further by welcoming the British measures, despite saying that he did not support punitive action being taken by one of Israel’s allies. Writing in the Financial Times, Ben-Yair argued that such measures were necessary to preserve the possibility of a political solution capable of providing “peace and security for the seven million Jews and seven million Palestinians living between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.” Ben-Yair said the distinction between Israel itself and its occupation of Palestinian territory was crucial. He argued that Israel’s legitimacy as a state should be distinguished from the occupation, which he described as “morally, politically and legally unacceptable.” Here we are to serve you with news right now.
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