He could recognize Palestine. He could prosecute British-Israeli soldiers taking part in the genocide. He could stop hosting<\/a> suspected Israeli war criminals in London, as Declassified<\/em> has documented. He could tear up special trade<\/a> agreements with Israel. The list goes on.<\/p>\n Has he done any of this? No.<\/p>\n Sham sanctions<\/strong><\/p>\n Nominal \u201cpunishment\u201d came last September when Starmer very publicly announced a cut in UK arms sales to Israel. He hoped no one would read the small print: it amounted to a paltry eight per cent reduction.<\/p>\n But even this turned out to be a sham. In fact, as data released last month showed, British arms sales to Israel hit record<\/a> levels in the three months following the announcement.<\/p>\n The only other significant sanction against Israel was not even tangible. Starmer declared last month he was suspending \u2013 that is, postponing \u2013 a new round of trade talks with Israel until it stopped blocking aid to Gaza.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, was summoned<\/a> to the Foreign Office to have the decision communicated to her.<\/p>\n In fact, that slap on the wrist appears to have been chiefly spin too.<\/p>\n Shortly afterwards, the UK embassy in Israel tweeted<\/a> an image of Ian Austin, the government\u2019s trade envoy to Israel, on a visit to the Israeli city of Haifa.<\/p>\n When questioned by the Financial Times<\/em> about why Austin was in Israel, Starmer\u2019s government said Britain was still keen to maintain<\/a> its existing business relationships.<\/p>\n The truth is that even the government\u2019s highly circumscribed \u201csanctions\u201d against Israel are nothing more than hollow threats. It has been, and continues to be, business as usual with Israel throughout the Gaza genocide.<\/p>\n Propagandist for genocide<\/strong><\/p>\n What Starmer and his foreign secretary, David Lammy, should have done \u2013 had they even the slightest interest in distancing themselves from Israel\u2019s genocidal extremism \u2013 is not just summon Hotovely for another apologetic chat but actually demand her expulsion.<\/p>\n Such an action is necessary not chiefly because she is the main representative in London of a genocidal Israeli government. There is an argument to be made that the UK government needs direct diplomatic channels of communication with Israel, even during a genocide.<\/p>\n But unlike her predecessors, Hotovely is not a diplomat. She is a hard-right politician \u2013 a loyal ally of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu \u2013 who has served for the past 20 months as the leading apologist and cheerleader for genocide on British soil.<\/p>\n Her constant incitement has been in flagrant violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention to which the UK is a signatory. Britain has a legal obligation to remove her from a post in which she has fomented support in Britain for the most serious crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n The UK is effectively sheltering a war crimes suspect.<\/p>\n Her influence is likely to have contributed to the commission of crimes by British<\/a> citizens traveling abroad to join the Israeli military.<\/p>\n After her expulsion, Israel would be entitled to replace her with a real diplomat, one who operates within the confines of British and international law.<\/p>\n But Britain should not be hosting a foreign official acting as a propagandist for genocide.<\/p>\n An online petition<\/a>, set up in December 2023, calling for the Israeli ambassador to be expelled has attracted more than 170,000 verified signatures \u2013 an unprecedented public display of disgust at her continuing presence in the UK.<\/p>\n Inciting violence<\/strong><\/p>\n It is preposterous for Starmer to blame Netanyahu for \u201chorrific\u201d and \u201cintolerable\u201d scenes in Gaza when one of the Israeli prime minister\u2019s most fanatical aides is comfortably ensconced in London justifying these horrors.<\/p>\n It was Hotovely who less than three months into Israel\u2019s slaughter in Gaza rationalised its crimes by claiming<\/a> a supposed Hamas underground \u201cterror city\u201d was connected by tunnels to \u201cevery school, every mosque, every second house\u201d.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d27srd8s9736cr.cloudfront.net\/2025\/06\/FireShot-Pro-Webpage-Screenshot-3362-Meeting_with_Israeli_Prime_Minister_Benjamin_Netanyahu_33169781132.jpg-JPEG-Image_-upload.wikimedia.org_.png\")
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