Zvika Mor, father of freed hostage Eitan Mor and a candidate for the Religious Zionism party in Israel's upcoming elections, sharply criticized Britain's newly announced sanctions against Israel during a Wednesday interview on Israel Defense Forces Radio. "The British are the worst after the Nazis and the Nakhba perpetrators, simply antisemites. Why are we being polite with them?" Mor said.
UK Sanctions on Israel
Hostage Father Slams UK Over Sanctions
Zvika Mor, whose son Eitan was held captive by Hamas, condemned new British trade restrictions and sanctions targeting Israeli settlements
The comments came after British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a sweeping new sanctions regime targeting Israel on Tuesday evening. The measures include a comprehensive ban on trade with Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), sanctions against individual Israeli citizens and construction companies operating in the territory, and additional far-reaching restrictions.
Miliband, who is Jewish and serves as foreign secretary in Britain's Labour government, introduced what he described as an "unprecedented" decision against Israel. He opened his remarks by acknowledging the experience of antisemitism faced by British Jews, then in the same address drew an equivalence between Israel and hostile entities by announcing that sanctions would be imposed for the first time on both Israel and Hezbollah, as well as Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
During his announcement, he cited prominent Israeli left-wing figures to support his position. He quoted former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, stating that Olmert himself had characterized the situation in Judea and Samaria as "ongoing and criminal ethnic cleansing," according to the foreign secretary's remarks.
Miliband went on to describe developments in Judea and Samaria as "a sustained policy of oppression, colonialism, and Jewish terror." He announced that Britain would impose a total ban on trade with Jewish settlements in the territory. He also highlighted the E1 construction plan as representing a dramatic change on the ground and stated that sanctions would be applied to construction companies operating in settlements.
The foreign secretary further announced an expansion of existing arms trade restrictions with Israel, imposing what he called a "dual ban" on the sale of any equipment "that could be used to support efforts to consolidate the settlements."
He characterized the war in Gaza as "one of the greatest moral stains in world history" and stated that Britain would accept the determination of the International Court of Justice should it define the Gaza war as genocide.
He concluded by announcing that additional countries would be joining Britain in implementing similar measures.
