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UK Intensifies Pressure on Israel, Suspends Trade Talks and Imposes Sanctions Amid Gaza Conflict

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a reception, following the UK-EU summit, in London, Britain, May 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool

The British government is increasing pressure on Israel over its military campaign in Gaza against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, by halting free trade talks and imposing sanctions on Israeli residents in the West Bank.

On Tuesday, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy described the situation in Gaza as “abominable,” sharply criticizing Israel’s defensive campaign throughout the war-torn enclave and its handling of humanitarian aid.

Despite an existing trade agreement between the two countries, the British diplomat warned that negotiations cannot proceed as long as the Jewish state pursues what he described as “egregious policies in the West Bank and Gaza.”

“The world is judging,” Lammy said in a statement. “History will judge them. Blocking aid. Expanding the war. Dismissing the concerns of your friends and partners. This is indefensible. And it must stop.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry denounced the UK government’s latest decision as “anti-Israel” in a statement on X, arguing that the free trade agreement was mutually beneficial and in the best interests of both nations.

“If, due to anti-Israel obsession and domestic political considerations, the British government is willing to harm the British economy — that is its own prerogative,” the statement read.

The Israeli government also condemned the sanctions targeting Israeli residents in the West Bank, asserting that the UK’s actions would not deter Israel from defending its security or its right to exist.

“The sanctions against residents of Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] are unjustified, and regrettable, especially at a time when Israel is mourning yet another victim of Palestinian terror — Tzeela Gez, of blessed memory, who was murdered on her way to the delivery room,” the statement read.

“The British Mandate ended exactly 77 years ago. External pressure will not divert Israel from its path in defending its existence and security against enemies who seek its destruction,” it continued, referring to Britain’s administration in the early to mid-20th century over what is today Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also criticized Israel’s military campaign against Hamas, calling the suffering of children in Gaza “utterly intolerable” and urging an immediate ceasefire.

“I want to put on record today that we are horrified by the escalation from Israel,” Starmer said in a press conference.

The UK’s latest actions against Israel came just one day after the country joined France and Canada in a joint statement, warning that “concrete measures” would be taken if the Israeli government does not end its renewed military offensive and significantly ease restrictions on humanitarian aid.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the leaders of France, the UK, and Canada, accusing them of rewarding terrorism with their threats and condemning their stance.

“By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed, and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa, and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on Oct. 7, while inviting more such atrocities,” the Israeli leader said in a statement, referring to the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that started the current war.

“The war can end tomorrow if the remaining hostages are released, Hamas lays down its arms, its murderous leaders are exiled, and Gaza is demilitarized. No nation can be expected to accept anything less, and Israel certainly won’t,” the statement continued. “This is a war of civilization over barbarism. Israel will continue to defend itself by just means until total victory is achieved.”

Meanwhile, Hamas welcomed the joint statement by the UK, France, and Canada, calling it “a step in the right direction” — a response that, according to Israeli officials, shows these countries are on “the wrong side of history.”

“When you’re praised by Hamas — a jihadist terrorist organization that murders children and rapes women — you’re on the wrong side of history,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry wrote in a post on X. “What a disgrace.”

Israel has strongly denied allegations of causing starvation in Gaza, emphasizing that, prior to its recent blockade, it had consistently delivered substantial humanitarian aid to the enclave throughout the conflict.

Israeli officials have also stated that much of the aid entering Gaza is diverted by Hamas, which uses it to fund terrorist activities and sells the remainder at inflated prices to civilians in the enclave.

Jerusalem has also argued that aid distribution should not be entrusted to international organizations, accusing them of allowing Hamas to seize supplies meant for the civilian population.

According to media reports, Israel will resume humanitarian shipments through a US-backed organization scheduled to begin operations in Gaza by the end of May. Around 60 trucks carrying essential food and household supplies will enter the Strip each day, inspected by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at the Kerem Shalom border crossing.

The aid will then be distributed at designated centers in southern Gaza, secured by American contractors, while non-governmental organizations will handle direct distribution to ensure Hamas does not divert the supplies.

The post UK Intensifies Pressure on Israel, Suspends Trade Talks and Imposes Sanctions Amid Gaza Conflict first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Trump Administration to Release Over $5 Billion School Funding That It Withheld

US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and President Donald Trump, in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria

President Donald Trump’s administration will release more than $5 billion in previously approved funding for K-12 school programs that it froze over three weeks ago under a review, which had led to bipartisan condemnation.

“(The White House Office of Management and Budget) has completed its review … and has directed the Department to release all formula funds,” Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications at the U.S. Education Department, said in a statement, adding funds will be dispersed to states next week.

Further details on the review and what it found were not shared.

A senior administration official said “guardrails” would be in place for the amount being released, without giving details.

Early in July, the Trump administration said it would not release funding previously appropriated by Congress for schools and that an initial review found signs the money was misused to subsidize what it alleged was “a radical leftwing agenda.”

States say $6.8 billion in total was affected by the freeze. Last week, $1.3 billion was released.

After the freeze, a coalition of mostly Democratic-led states sued to challenge the move, and 10 Republican US senators wrote to the Republican Trump administration to reverse its decision.

The frozen money covered funding for education of migrant farm workers and their children; recruitment and training of teachers; English proficiency learning; academic enrichment and after-school and summer programs.

The Trump administration has threatened schools and colleges with withholding federal funds over issues like climate initiatives, transgender policies, pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israel’s war in Gaza and diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

Republican US lawmakers welcomed the move on Friday, while Democratic lawmakers said there was no need to disrupt funding in the first place.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon separately said she was satisfied with what was found in the review and released the money, adding she did not think there would be future freezes.

The post Trump Administration to Release Over $5 Billion School Funding That It Withheld first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Israel to Resume Airdrop Aid to Gaza on Saturday, Military Says

Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo

Israel will resume airdrop aid to Gaza on Saturday night, the Israeli military said, a few days after more than 100 aid agencies warned that mass starvation was spreading across the enclave.

“The airdrops will include seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food to be provided by international organizations,” the military added in a statement.

The post Israel to Resume Airdrop Aid to Gaza on Saturday, Military Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Trump Says Hamas ‘Didn’t Want to Make a Deal,’ Now Likely to Get ‘Hunted Down’

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.

i24 NewsUS President Donald Trump on Friday said the Palestinian jihadists of Hamas did not want to make a deal on a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza.

“Now we’re down to the final hostages, and they know what happens after you get the final hostages. And basically because of that, they really didn’t want to make a deal,” Trump said.

The comments followed statements by Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the effect that Israel was now considering “alternative” options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending the terror rule of Hamas in the coastal enclave.

Trump added he believed Hamas leaders would now be “hunted down.”

On Thursday, Witkoff said the Trump administration had decided to bring its negotiating team home for consultations following Hamas’s latest proposal. Witkoff said overnight that Hamas was to blame for the impasse, with Netanyahu concurring.

Trump also dismissed the significance of French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that Paris would become the first major Western power to recognize an independent Palestinian state.

Macron’s comments, “didn’t carry any weight,” the US leader said.

The post Trump Says Hamas ‘Didn’t Want to Make a Deal,’ Now Likely to Get ‘Hunted Down’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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