OTTAWA — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Canada, the United Kingdom and France of giving Hamas "a huge prize" by threatening to take action against Israel over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
His blast came after a joint statement Monday from Prime Minister Mark Carney, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, threatening “targeted sanctions” on Israel in response to its renewed military offensive in Gaza and the "wholly inadequate" amount of food aid allowed into the enclave.
The U.K. moved first on the threat, with U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy saying Tuesday the British government is suspending free trade negotiations with Israel and has ordered new sanctions targeting West Bank settlements.
Neither Canada nor France have made any such moves at this time.
That joint statement came after Netanyahu said Monday that Israel plans on "taking control of all of Gaza" and will encourage what he describes as voluntary emigration to other countries — a proposal the Palestinians have rejected.
In a social media post late Monday evening, Netanyahu accused the leaders of Canada, France and the U.K. of “offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities."
"This is a war of civilization over barbarism. Israel will continue to defend itself by just means until total victory is achieved," Netanyahu said in his social media statement.
The joint statement said the three countries support Israel's right to defend itself but call its military escalation "wholly disproportionate."
It also said the three countries oppose "any attempt to expand settlements in the West Bank" and threatened sanctions if Israel does not halt their spread.
Lammy said in a statement Tuesday that the Israeli government has a responsibility to intervene and halt "aggressive actions" by extremist Israeli settlers.
"I have seen for myself the consequences of settler violence. The fear of its victims. The impunity of its perpetrators," Lammy said.
"The Israeli government has a responsibility to intervene and halt these aggressive actions. Their consistent failure to act is putting Palestinian communities and the two-state solution in peril."
The U.K. issued sanctions against what it called three individuals, two "illegal settler outposts" and two organizations "supporting violence against Palestinian communities" in the West Bank.
Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs director general Eden Bar Tal said the country accepted United States special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff's proposal for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages over the weekend, but claimed Hamas rejected it.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2025.
David Baxter, The Canadian Press
