UK should sever ties with ‘rogue state’ Israel and sacrifice £6bn of commerce hyperlinks, claims Zack Polanski – as Green chief slams ‘terror acts’ in Lebanon regardless of Middle East ceasefire deal
Britain must sever ties with Israel and sacrifice £6billion of trade links between the two countries, Green Party leader Zack Polanski demanded today.
In an angry outburst against what he described as a ‘rogue state’, Mr Polanski said Israel’s actions in the Middle East were akin to ‘terror acts’.
He called for the suspension of diplomatic ties between the UK and Israel, the imposition of ‘robust sanctions’, and the scrapping of a planned trade deal.
It came after Israel continued its attacks against targets in Lebanon, despite US President Donald Trump‘s declaration of a ceasefire across the Middle East.
Speaking at the launch of the Green Party’s local election campaign on Thursday, Mr Polanski said: ‘What is it going to take for this Government to actually put robust sanctions on Israel?
‘It is outrageous that Israel are still enjoying diplomatic and trade privileges from the international community.
‘As a Green Party, we are calling on this Government to make much more robust sanctions, to withdraw the UK-Israel trade agreement, and to end the genocide.
Mr Polanski later said he was willing to sacrifice the economic relationship between the UK and Israel, which is estimated to be worth £6.2billion a year.
Britain must sever ties with Israel and sacrifice £6billion of trade links between the two countries, Green Party leader Zack Polanski has demanded
In an angry outburst against what he described as a ‘rogue state’, Mr Polanski said Israel’s actions in the Middle East were akin to ‘terror acts’
Israel has insisted the Middle East ceasefire agreement struck by Mr Trump does not cover the conflict in Lebanon.
On Wednesday, Israel carried out what it described as the largest wave of air strikes in the conflict with Lebanon.
It said these had hit more than 100 command centres and military sites run by terror group Hezbollah.
The Lebanese health ministry said at least 182 people had been killed and 890 wounded.
Iran claimed to have once again closed the Strait of Hormuz – a vital sea passage that usually carries around one-fifth of global oil supplies – in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
US Vice President JD Vance said the ceasefire agreement with Iran, which was supposed to reopen the Strait, does not include Lebanon but that there had been a ‘legitimate misunderstanding’ on the Iranian side that it did.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called for the Middle East ceasefire to be implemented in full, including in Lebanon, in a joint statement with European allies and Canada.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has warned failing to include Lebanon in the ceasefire could ‘destabilise the whole region’.
Speaking in Deptford on Thursday morning, Mr Polanski was quizzed about his demand for the UK to cut trade links with Israel.
‘I don’t think we should be putting a cost on people’s lives,’ he said.
‘The fact we’ve seen an ongoing genocide, we’ve seen hundreds of people die in last 24 hours in Lebanon, as well as schoolchildren who have died in Iran – all by the US-Israeli military strikes jointly – is totally unacceptable.’
The Green leader added: ‘We need to look at what economic sovereignty looks like and where we’re relying on countries that have bad human rights records or countries that are committing human rights abuses or terror acts, as we’re seeing this rogue state Israel are doing at the moment.
‘It’s clearly important we disentangle from that.’
The UK began negotiations over a post-Brexit trade deal with Israel in 2022, but Labour’s David Lammy – then foreign secretary – suspended the talks in May last year over Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Mr Polanski also used the south east London event to predict his party was ‘heading for a new record-breaking result’ at local elections on 7 May.
‘In 2023 we had record-breaking results as a Green Party. We got over 241 new councillors,’ he said.
‘Now, 2023 was an election where double the number of seats were in play than there are at this election.
‘Nevertheless, I am confident, but not complacent, in this election we are going to beat 241 councillors and we are heading for a new record-breaking result for the Green Party.’
The Greens have seen a surge in support since Mr Polanski, a self-described ‘eco-populist’, was elected as the party’s leader in September last year.
The latest YouGov poll showed the Greens were supported by 16 per cent of voters, which put the party level with Labour but behind the Tories (19 per cent) and Reform UK (24 per cent).
Responding to the Greens’ local elections campaign launch, Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: ‘Zack Polanski and the Green Party are completely out of touch and have no plan for communities across the country.
‘They would force 55mph speed limits on our roads, abolish prisons, legalise hard drugs and put our national security at risk.
‘They are more focused on ideological and sectarian posturing than the issues that matter in town halls across the country.’
