UK Green Party leader Zack Polanski has called for his country to withdraw from its trade agreement with Israel and to impose sanctions on Tel Aviv, following Israel’s deadly strikes on Lebanon, which killed over 250 people on Wednesday evening.
Polanski also urged the government to bar the United States – Israel’s chief partner in the ongoing war in the Middle East – from using UK airspace.
“What is it going to take for this government to actually put robust sanctions on Israel?” Polanski was quoted by The Guardian at a local party launch event.
“It is outrageous that Israel is 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,” he added, referring to Israel’s onslaught on Gaza.
The Green Party leader questioned Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s assertions about the UK not being involved in the war on Iran, and called for Britain’s armed forces to “disentangle” from the US military.
He also slammed US President Donald Trump as being an “increasingly unpredictable and dangerous man”.
The Green Party under Polanski’s leadership has been noted for its vocal criticism of Israel, as well as UK foreign policy relating to the Middle East.
The Greens appear to have emerged as a serious challenger on the UK political scene, particularly after beating the Labour Party in the Manchester Gorton and Denton by-election in February. Plumber Hannah Spencer was elected as MP in what was once considered a Labour stronghold, becoming the Green Party’s fifth member in the House of Commons.
A Westminster voting intention poll published by YouGov on Wednesday put the Greens neck-and-neck with the ruling Labour Party at 16 percent, with the Conservatives at 19 percent and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK at 24 percent.
