Starmer expresses ‘support and solidarity’ for Qatar after Israel targets Hamas leadership

Starmer referenced his meeting with the leader of the Palestinian Authority, President Mahmoud Abbas, on Monday, and a planned meeting this afternoon with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog.

The prime minister said, “I will make absolutely clear that we condemn Israel’s actions.”

“However difficult, the UK will not walk away from a diplomatic solution… We will negotiate and strain every sinew because that is the only way to get the hostages out,” the prime minister went on.

But the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the House of Commons, Stephen Flynn, said that "rather than end arms sales, extend sanctions, and stand by international law", the prime minister is welcoming Herzog.

He condemned the Israeli president, whom he accused of calling for the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people” and signing shells “to destroy their homes,” and claimed Herzog would ignore “every word” from the prime minister.

Flynn asked: “Would he invite Vladimir Putin into number 10? Would he invite Benjamin Netanyahu to his home?”

Starmer said the point Flynn raised was "serious" and the government wants an outcome that ensures peace, which releases the hostages, gets aid into Gaza, and leads to a two-state solution.

The prime minister added that the UK had "suspended arms used in Gaza" as well as "sanctioned extremists" and suspended trade talks.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, said he “echoed the prime minister’s condemnation of Netanyahu’s attacks on Qatar.

“These are not the actions of a leader focused on getting the hostages home, and I hope the prime minister will say that to President Herzog later today,” Davey said.

Meanwhile, Green Party MP Carla Denyer criticised the 51 Israeli arms companies exhibiting at the DSEI UK arms fair this week. She said: “Some of them even boast that their weapons are battle-tested. We all know what that means: used to kill men, women, and children.”

“Will the prime minister stop Israeli arms companies from parading their Gaza-tested arms?” Denyer asked.

Starmer said there are clear and strict rules on this and "have taken action in relation to arms sales".

A Number 10 spokesperson later reiterated that the prime minister would raise this “unacceptable action” in Qatar with Herzog later today - and will tell the Israeli president that the “man-made famine in Gaza must end”.

Elsewhere during the session, Starmer was grilled on the UK's ambassador to the US, Lord Mandelson, and his association with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The leader of the opposition, Kemi Badenoch, asked if Starmer had “full confidence” in Mandelson, following the ambassador’s admission that he continued his friendship with Epstein after his conviction.

Badenoch asked if the prime minister believed that it is “tenable for the ambassador to remain in post” and if he had “confidence in a man who has brokered deals with a convicted sex offender”?

Starmer responded the Madelson has “repeatedly expressed his regret for his association” with Epstein, whom he called a “despicable criminal”.