UK urged to impose ‘full sanctions and political isolation’ of Israel over situation in West Bank

A ruling Labour Party lawmaker on Saturday urged the British government to act on the situation in the occupied West Bank, saying “full sanctions and (the) political isolation of Israel” must be led by the UK.

“As Netanyahu starts the process of turning the West Bank into a second Gaza our government has to act,” John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes & Harlington, wrote on US social media platform X. “The message needs to go out that this extension of the genocide will not be tolerated.”

McDonnell’s remarks came after reports that Israel had launched a campaign of collective punishment of Palestinians in the city of Hebron after gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers and injured three near a checkpoint outside the city.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday during an incursion into Hebron that his army was preparing a large-scale military offensive in the occupied West Bank involving the displacement of Palestinians from their neighborhoods and raids on homes.

In an interview with Anadolu earlier this month, McDonnell, 75, urged the government to go “beyond the limited sanctions” against Israel, saying a total halt to arms sales is needed amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

“It’s important that they’ve introduced some sanctions against the Israeli settlements. It’s not far enough. What we need is overall sanctions, the end of trade,” he said.