By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has defended his reference to the UK as an ‘Islamic Republic’.
In a podcast with Israeli Army Radio, Netanyahu recalled meeting the grandson of Winston Churchill, describing him as a ‘lover of Israel’ and then adding that you won’t find that kind of attitude in the UK now, which he said was known as ‘The Islamic Republic of Britain’.
The UK and Israel are long-standing allies, but relations have deteriorated since the war in Gaza broke our in October 2023.
Asked whether he believed all of Europe had effectively become “Islamic”, Netanyahu responded by alluding to remarks made two years earlier by U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
“Someone said the first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons will be the Islamic Republic of Britain,” Netanyahu said. “We are making sure there won’t be another one here, in Iran.”
The remarks drew criticism, with UK saying the remarks were “completely unacceptable.”
“These comments are completely unacceptable and we have raised them with the Israeli Government,” a U.K. government spokesman said Friday.
Britain was one of a number of European countries that recognized Palestinian statehood last year, infuriating Israel.
More recently, its new prime minister Andy Burnham has said that his predecessor Keir Starmer did not put enough pressure on Israel to halt its offensive in Gaza.
