Starmer says settler violence in the West Bank must be ‘dealt with’

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he is worried about “unlawfulness” and “terrible settler violence” in the West Bank, which he said must be “dealt with”.

Facing a grilling from Parliament’s Liaison Committee on Thursday, Starmer was pressed on the matter by Foreign Affairs Select Committee Chair Emily Thornberry.

“We know that we are dealing with a government in Israel that, at least the stated view, is that they are not in favour of a two-state solution at the moment”, she said, adding that “some of the wilder members of the Israeli cabinet talk about annexation”.

“If annexation does happen, and we all of course hope it doesn’t, I’m sure the West will condemn it, but is there a ‘plan b’ further than condemnation if the West Bank is annexed?”, Thornberry asked.

Starmer responded that he was “very worried” about the “unlawfulness of the situation on the ground” as well as “terrible settler violence going on that needs to be dealt with.”

He added: “the anchor has to be international law and respecting international law”.

The government has faced pressure to sanction Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, two far-right MKs who have a history of making controversial and maximalist statements.

In October, Starmer said that the government was “looking at” sanctions against the two Israeli ministers following a question by Liberal Democrat Party leader Sir Ed Davey at Prime Minister’s Questions.

In November, Foreign Secretary David Lammy told MPs he was “very concerned” by settler violence and expansion “and by the rhetoric that we are hearing from members of the Israeli government”, but did not commit to any action against them.

The head of Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, made an unprecedented warning about the threats to Israel posed by ultra-nationalist Jewish domestic terrorism.

In a letter to several Israeli cabinet ministers in August, he cautioned that inaction against Jewish terrorism could have dire consequences for Israel, including: “global delegitimisation, even among our allies; spreading thin the IDF’s personnel which is struggling to keep up with all its missions”.

Back at the Liaison Committee, Thornberry also asked Starmer about the prospect of a ceasefire in Gaza and “what role will the UK play in what comes next” should it take place.

The prime minister answered that he hoped the “intense discussions going on in relation to a Gaza ceasefire” did “bear fruit”.

He continued: “The immediate steps, it seems to me, are ensuring the hostages are released because they’ve been held a very, very long time and the must be released. And a ceasefire is not worthy of its name if it does not involve the release of the hostages. Next, of course, aid needs to go in, both at volume and speed to a very dire, catastrophic situation in Gaza."

He went to say that we wanted the UK to help “create the space, through a ceasefire, for the necessary steps or progress to a two-state solution.”

The prime minister admitted that talk of a two-state solution “may seem rather distant at the moment when we haven’t even got a ceasefire, but I genuinely believe that it is the only logical solution to the conflict”.