British sanctions against Israel would be self-harming and morally wrong

Telegraph

13-05-2025

When earlier this year I was asked by the Government to become trade envoy to Israel, it was an invitation I gladly took up. It was a way to serve the interests of the British people.
You may not realise it, but countless jobs and even lives in this country are dependent upon the exchange of ideas, innovation and business with Israel.
The Government is negotiating a new trade deal but Labour donor Dale Vince says ministers should 'pull the trade deal and impose sanctions'. A few backbenchers are campaigning against the trade relationship with Israel too. As the Government is negotiating a new trade deal, they're instead calling for sanctions.
Meanwhile, in the Tory party, a small group of MPs and peers want the UK to defy the Israeli government and recognise a state of Palestine now.
Imagine how much this country would lose if the call for sanctions was heeded.
Take the health system. Every day millions of people in Britain rely on vital medicines developed and manufactured in Israel. A staggering one in seven drugs dispensed by the NHS comes from the country. It may be a relatively small nation of ten million people, but Israel is a global powerhouse when it comes to pioneering new technology and pharmaceuticals.
And let's not forget that during the pandemic, Britain was able to reap the benefits of Israel's world-leading public health strategies, thanks to close cooperation between our two countries. Britain can expect to reap the benefits of this innovation in biotech for decades to come. University partnerships between Israel and the UK are already developing life-saving technologies and treatments to tackle some of the world's biggest health challenges, including dementia and cancer.
An astonishing level of engineering and intellectual firepower in Israel has made it a Silicon Valley of the Middle East. Israeli tech is found in the mobile phones we all use every day, computers and much more. Scientists there are working on the development of new agriculture technologies to eliminate world hunger.
Then there is the boost to our economy. More than 1.7 million people work for UK firms exporting goods to Israel. We sell clothes, cars, generators, aircraft engines, medical equipment, scientific instruments and pharmaceuticals there. British engineers are working on Israeli infrastructure contracts worth millions of pounds.
We benefit substantially from this ongoing relationship. The UK exported £3.2bn worth of products to Israel last year. In return, Israel sold £2.5bn worth of goods and services to the UK.
But it's not just about money. The UK also benefits much more than Israel from defence and security cooperation too. Without Israeli technology, the RAF could not get planes in the air. Israeli intelligence has foiled multiple terror attacks in the UK. When British troops at war in Afghanistan and Iraq needed certain weapons and equipment urgently, they were supplied immediately, in some cases straight from Israel's own defence supplies. There's no doubt that British lives were saved.
It's abundantly clear that Israel is a vital trading partner and ally for the UK.
Of course, the stance of a few parliamentarians – both Labour and Conservative – against Israel is a response to the war in Gaza. But to me it seems their views stand against not only British interests but also what's best for Israelis and the Palestinians.
When, on October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists crossed the border to slaughter 1,200 Israelis and take 250 hostages, the worst loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust should have been an occasion for worldwide sympathy and support.
Instead, in a sickening moral inversion, Israel has been the target for the worst victim blaming imaginable. Marches in London by supporters of Palestine began before Israel had so much as struck a blow in return. One Labour backbencher, Andy McDonald, accuses Israel of 'war crimes, apartheid and even genocide'.
But in truth it is Hamas who have committed countless crimes and stand in the way of peace. Their cowardly gunmen cynically hide among the civilian population in school and hospitals, and have siphoned off billions from international humanitarian aid to build a rabbit warren of tunnels beneath Gaza.
Behind Hamas stands Iran, also the puppeteer pulling the strings of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. The arrests last week over an alleged terror plot on British soil remind us that Tehran is a direct threat to the UK too.
Israel is the world's only Jewish state, the Middle East's only true democracy and one of our closest allies. We share values and interests and economic benefits. We share enemies too, who would only rejoice if we put that relationship at risk.