ISRAELI prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hit out at Keir Starmer and other close allies, claiming that by criticising him they “want Hamas to remain in power”.
The Israeli leader – who is wanted for arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity – claimed that Starmer, Canadian leader Mark Carney, and French president Emmanual Macron are “on the wrong side of justice” and the “wrong side of humanity".
It was a direct response to a joint statement from the three leaders which saw Israel called out for both an 11-week blockade on aid into Gaza – which pushed people in the region to the brink of famine – and Netanyahu’s plans to take complete control of the Palestinian land.
“We strongly oppose the expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable,” the joint statement said.
“[Monday’s] announcement that Israel will allow a basic quantity of food into Gaza is wholly inadequate.”
On Wednesday night, two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead in Washington DC in an attack which the Israeli government then sought to blame, at least in part, on European government officials speaking against Israel.
In his statement late on Thursday, Netanyahu made similar allegations. He called Hamas “neo-Nazis”, saying that: “‘Free Palestine’ is just today’s version of ‘Heil Hitler’.
Last night in Washington something horrific happened. A brutal terrorist shot in cold blood a young beautiful couple – Yaron Lischinsky and Sara Milgrim. Yaron had just bought an engagement ring for Sarah. He was planning to give it to her in Jerusalem next week. They were… pic.twitter.com/FFdMwlacJ9
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 22, 2025
Netanyahu went on: “They don’t want a Palestinian state. They want to destroy the Jewish state. They want to annihilate the Jewish people, who have been in the land of Israel for 3500 years.
“I could never understand how this simple truth evades the leaders of France, Britain, Canada and others. They are now proposing to establish a Palestinian state and reward these murderers with the ultimate prize.
“Well for 18 years we had a de facto Palestinian state. It’s called Gaza. And what did we get? Peace? No. We got the most savage slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust.
“You won't be surprised to learn that Hamas thanked President Macron and Prime Ministers Starmer and Carney for demanding that Israel end its war in Gaza immediately. Hamas was right to thank them.
“Because by issuing their demand – replete with a threat of sanctions against Israel, against Israel, not Hamas – these three leaders effectively said they want Hamas to remain in power.
“They want Israel to stand down and accept that Hamas's army of mass murderers will survive, rebuild and repeat the October 7 massacre again and again and again because that's what Hamas has vowed to do.
“I say to President Macron, Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Starmer: when mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers thank you, you're on the wrong side of justice. You're on the wrong side of humanity and you're on the wrong side of history.
“Now, these leaders may think that they're advancing peace. They’re not. They’re emboldening Hamas to continue fighting forever. And they give them hope to establish a second Palestinian state from which Hamas will again seek to destroy the Jewish state.”
Netanyahu spoke against a two-state solution to the crisis in Israel and Palestine, which the UK Government and other Israel allies have insisted is the path to peace in the war-torn region.
He further called allegations that Israel was sparking a famine in Gaza a “lie”, which he tied to the killings in Washington DC.
Netanyahu went on to address the incident in the West Bank which saw Israeli troops open fire on European delegates visiting the Jenin refugee camp. He called it an “accident”, saying they happen in war.
Downing Street did not immediately respond to Netanyahu’s comments, but pointed press to a tweet from Starmer which said: “I thoroughly condemn the antisemitic attack outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC.
“Antisemitism is an evil we must stamp out wherever it appears.
“My thoughts are with their colleagues, family and loved ones, and, as always, I stand in solidarity with the Jewish community.”
