Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a sharp rebuke against the UK, calling it the “Islamic republic of Britain” and describing it as a potential “first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons” in a podcast interview.Netanyahu made the comments during a podcast interview for Israel’s Army Radio, while discussing what he sees as a shift in British attitudes towards Israel. He praised the positive coverage Israel received from journalist Randolph Churchill, the son of former British prime minister Winston Churchill, more than half a century ago, before contrasting it with what he described as the situation in Britain today.“Go find that in today’s Britain, in what is called the Islamic republic of Britain,” Netanyahu said.When the host questioned whether Netanyahu was unfairly singling out the UK and asked, “Isn’t all of Europe is like that?”, the Israeli prime minister doubled down.“Yes, but you know someone said the first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons will be the Islamic republic of Britain.”His comments come amid increasingly strained relations between Britain and Israel, particularly over the war in Gaza. Shortly before becoming prime minister, Andy Burnham apologised for Labour’s initial response to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, saying the party “didn’t get it right” and needed to “do better” under his leadership.Netanyahu’s comments came as he also pushed back against a US-backed plan aimed at ending the Gaza war, signalling continued disagreement with Washington over the terms of any deal involving Hamas.He said Israel would not withdraw from its current positions in Gaza until Hamas was completely disarmed. The proposed agreement called for Hamas to begin disarming while Israel halted its strikes and withdrew from roughly 60% of the territory it currently controls.“The Trump administration “sent us a draft. We did not agree. It is not our draft. We sent our comments. … This is our position,” Netanyahu said in a video posted on social media.He also said Israeli forces would continue to “do whatever is necessary to protect themselves, our territory, and our citizens.”The comments came as Palestinians held a mass funeral for more than 100 bodies recovered from a residential block in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood that was destroyed in an Israeli strike in November 2023.The recovery of the remains has been possible during the fragile ceasefire, with rescue workers retrieving the bodies of 112 people, including 40 children, from the rubble. Gaza’s Civil Defense said 157 bodies from the site remain missing.
