Labour peer says Britain could impose sanctions on Israel

Lord Michael Levy, a Labour peer who was former prime minister Tony Blair's Middle East adviser and envoy, has thrown his support behind the UK government's move to suspend trade talks with the Israeli government. 

On Tuesday, Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced that the UK is summoning the Israeli ambassador in London and suspending its free trade agreement with Israel.

He also condemned "this Israeli government's egregious actions and rhetoric".

Now Lord Levy, a prominent figure in Britain's political scene, has endorsed Britain's move in a significant intervention. 

"I absolutely do support the stand - perhaps it's even a little late," he told BBC Radio 4, describing himself as "a very proud Jew, deeply involved in our community and someone who passionately cares for Israel".

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Levy said of Israeli far-right ministers Bezalal Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir that "really, they were terrorists".

The peer is the cousin of Emily Damari, who was taken captive in the Hamas-led 7 October attack on southern Israel and held for more than 15 months before her release in January.

'Strong possibility' of sanctions

Levy told the BBC: "There has to be a stand, not just from us in this country, but internationally, against what is going on in Gaza.

"It is so difficult to watch the news and see what’s going on in Gaza, to the civilian population, to innocent children and the total destruction - and then to listen to the words of some of the far-right ministers – Smotrich, Ben Gvir – and what they are saying. That, to me, is not the way I was brought up as a Jew."

The peer added that there is a "strong possibility" that Britain could place sanctions on Israel. 

He said trade talks had broken down but added that "it could go deeper than that, in terms of stopping any form of arms sales, and sanctions against Israel.

"I don’t want that to happen, but it may have to happen, with other countries involved, because what is going on is absolutely intolerable."

However, Levy refused to accuse Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza. Pressed by BBC presenter Sarah Montague on the issue, he said: "That's for the courts to decide."

Levy, who had a home in Tel Aviv, raised millions of pounds for the Labour Party before Blair became prime minister, and was then appointed Blair's personal envoy to the Middle East in 2000.

He has often drawn controversy, famously walking out of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2003, which many believed led to the envoy being sidelined.

Levy also brokered talks between Palestinian Liberation Organisation chairman Yasser Arafat and the Israeli government and was credited with having convinced Arafat, whom he descibed as "very personable" but "difficult to read", to appoint a Palestinian prime minister. 

In October 2024, Levy declared that "I don’t think there’s any hope for peace with Netanyahu in power".

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