Britain and France flatly rejected Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusation against Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron that they are "on the wrong side of humanity" after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington DC.
The Israeli premier attacked the Prime Minister and French president for “emboldening Hamas” a day after young diplomat couple Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were killed in the United States capital.
He also condemned a recent joint statement between the Labour leader, Mr Macron and Canada’s Mark Carney, which took aim at Israel’s “egregious” actions in Gaza.
But the UK Government hit back at the claims.
“I don’t agree with those comments,” Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard told LBC Radio when asked about the “wrong side of humanity” accusation.
“We condemn in the fullest possible terms the murder of the Israeli diplomats in the United States.
“That is completely unacceptable.
“But the argument that we have been making about how we bring peace to Israel and to the Palestinians is with a restoration of the immediate ceasefire, with Hamas releasing the hostages without any further delay and for massive amounts of aid to get into Gaza to give the Palestinians the food, water and medical support that they need.
“What we are seeing, the humanitarian situation in Gaza, is unacceptable.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France was "unwaveringly committed to Israel's security".
He stressed it was determined to combat antisemitism and that it was "absurd and slanderous" to accuse supporters of a two-state solution of encouraging antisemitism or Hamas.
Meanwhile, Mr Netanyahu’s office thanked US President Donald Trump “for the efforts he and his administration are making against manifestations of antisemitism in the US”.
His comments came after the UK this week suspended talks on a trade deal with Israel, summoned the country's ambassador and imposed fresh sanctions on West Bank settlers.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, the alleged Washington gunman, shot Mr Lischinsky and Ms Milgrim, who were due to get engaged, after they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum just after 9pm on Wednesday.
The American Osteopathic Information Association employee then chanted “Free Palestine” inside the building, where he was apprehended and arrested by police.
He was charged on Thursday with two counts of first degree murder, murder of foreign officials, causing death with a firearm and discharging a firearm in a crime of violence — and may face the death penalty if convicted.
In London, a small group of people gathered outside Israel’s embassy on Thursday evening, holding pictures of the two diplomats who were killed.
Mr Netanyahu directed blame for the killings towards Western leaders following the tragedy, suggesting their recent condemnation of Israel's aid blockade and resumed offensive against Hamas following the October 7 massacre was at least partly behind the incident.
He also accused the three of buying into “Hamas propaganda” that Israel is starving Gazan children, and claimed the formation of an independent Palestine will allow radicals sent from Iran “take over” the territory and “destroy the Jewish state”.
Mr Netanyahu said: "I could never understand how this simple truth evades the leaders of France, Britain, Canada, and others. They're now proposing to establish a Palestinian state and reward these murders 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.
Hamas was right to thank them
"You won't be surprised to learn that Hamas thanked President Macron and Prime Minister 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.”
Addressing the trio directly, he added: "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."
My joint statement with @EmmanuelMacron and @MarkJCarney on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. pic.twitter.com/76vYpB42xf
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) May 20, 2025
On the claim made by the United Nations’ humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher on Tuesday’s edition of BBC's Radio 4 Today programme that 14,000 Gazan babies would die in 48 hours because of Israel’s aid blockaide, Mr Netanyahu alleged: "International institutions are complicit in spreading this lie. The press repeats it, the mob believed it, and a young couple is then brutally gunned down in Washington."
On Tuesday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron and Mr Carney signed a joint letter opposing the expansion of Israel’s operations in Gaza “risks breaching international humanitarian law”, adding that the level of human suffering is "intolerable".
They also called on Hamas to release remaining hostages it took in the “heinous attack” on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people.
Another statement followed, signed by 27 donor countries including the UK, condemning a new Gaza aid delivery model being promoted by Israel.
A total of 107 aid trucks belonging to the United Nations and other aid groups carrying flour, food, medical equipment and pharmaceutical drugs were transferred on Thursday into the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said on Friday.
But aid agencies say far more supplies are needed.
Earlier, Sir Keir condemned the Washington killings, saying: “I thoroughly condemn the antisemitic attack outside the Israeli embassy 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.”
Israel's response has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, according to health officials.
