Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening with a delegation from the British Conservative Party, stressing that the relationship with the U.K. has been damaged against Israel’s wishes.
“The relationship between Israel and Britain is important to both countries,” Sa’ar tweeted. It has been severed “by a series of unilateral anti-Israel measures pursued by the Labour government since 2024.”
But “Israel still has good friends in Britain, and I thanked them for standing with Israel!” the minister added.
The visiting delegation was led by Party Chairman Kevin Hollinrake.
Hollinrake said it was a “privilege” to meet with Sa’ar and “hear directly about the challenges Israel continues to face from Iran and its proxies.”
The lawmaker affirmed the importance of the Israeli-British relationship, saying that “Conservatives stand firmly with Israel and look forward to restoring and strengthening the partnership that has been damaged in recent years.”
Thank you, Minister. It was a privilege for the Conservative delegation to meet with you in Jerusalem and hear directly about the challenges Israel continues to face from Iran and its proxies.
— Kevin Hollinrake MP (@kevinhollinrake) November 12, 2026
The special relationship between Britain and Israel remains deeply important to both… https://t.co/niFvcxwADZ
Israel’s relationship with Britain has been strained ever since the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, triggered a three-year war in Gaza. In September, the British government announced sanctions on Israeli businesses in Judea and Samaria, as well as on Israeli individuals allegedly tied to violent acts against Palestinians. The latter took effect immediately.
The trade ban, which is still being drafted, has the potential to spill over to Israeli companies based outside Judea and Samaria if they finance, build or facilitate Israeli communities in the region. Thus Israeli banks and financial institutions may be directly affected by the ban.
In his tweet on Wednesday, Sa’ar invoked a recent letter issued by 13 U.S. state attorneys general, who called on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to remove sanctions on Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.
As the attorneys general warned, “attempts to harm Israel also harm Britain itself,” Sa’ar said.
The attorneys general from Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Ohio and South Carolina were among those who signed the letter, which they sent to the British and Dutch ambassadors to the United States.
The letter stated that many of the states have laws barring government agencies from conducting business with companies that boycott Israel. As such, “your anti-Israel sanctions may thus disqualify companies from your nations from contracting with our states, or require our states to divest from your companies,” it said.
The letter also pointed out that the sanctions advance the objectives of terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah and “could be seen to provide a veneer of legitimacy to the policy aims of these terrorist organizations.”
British Jews call to ‘protect lawful trade with Israel’
Earlier this month, British Jews called on their government to reverse its decision to slap sanctions on Israel.
The National Jewish Assembly of the U.K. “calls upon the Foreign Secretary to address the questions raised in Parliament,” the assembly said in a statement, referring to a motion passed on Nov. 4.
The issues raised were in a motion of regret passed by a majority of 94 members of the House of Lord. It passed narrowly, with 90 peers voting against the motion.
The motion “notes the absence of safeguards to protect lawful trade with Israel within its pre-1967 lines; and calls on His Majesty’s Government to confirm that such trade will not be affected by these Regulations, publish clear designation criteria and an evidence-based framework to ensure consistent global application, and provide an impact assessment and annual report to Parliament on the operation of the regime.”
In September 2025, Britain recognized a Palestinian state, alongside Australia and Canada. The decision followed Britain’s suspension of roughly 30 arms-export licenses covering equipment deemed potentially usable in Israel’s military operations against Hamas in Gaza.
In June 2025, Britain sanctioned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, imposing travel bans and asset freezes over what it described as repeated incitement of violence against Palestinians.
