Dominic Raab urged to consider Israel sanctions by Labour MP

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been asked to consider sanctions against Israelis as he unveiled the UK’s independent approach to human rights abusers in Parliament this week.

Since London left the European Union it has been free to sanction those of its own choosing, and while the majority of individuals named by Raab were Saudis and Russians suspected of involvement in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and tax advisor Sergei Magnitsky respectively, MPs urged him to look at Israel.

“Israeli annexations are a violation of international law and jeopardise any chance of a two-state solution,” said Labour’s Afzal Khan. “A two-state solution is not a lost cause, but that is only possible if we speak up.

“I urge the Government to take action and condemn violations such as the recent bulldozing of a historic Muslim cemetery in Jaffa. Does the Foreign Secretary agree that such contempt for international law warrants sanctions? If not, could he please explain his reasoning?”

Raab said the UK “certainly opposes not just the settlement building but other violations of international humanitarian law” when it came to Israel, as Scottish National Party MP Brendan O’Hara echoed Khan’s comments.

He urged Raab to “not be blind to human rights abuses carried out by or in the name of our so-called allies and friends such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Israel or India, or indeed countries with which we are seeking to secure a post-Brexit trade deal”.