Nigel Farage says Reform would undo Labour's Israel policy

Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar said Wednesday that he spoke to Nigel Farage to thank the Reform UK leader for opposing British government sanctions on Israeli settlements.

Saar wrote on X that Farage assured him a Reform government would reverse what Saar called damage to the UK-Israel relationship caused by the Labour government and its policies.

Farage said in response that a Reform government “would undo the damage caused by Labour”. He also said he raised with Saar the issue of the Falklands, British-ruled islands in the South Atlantic claimed by Argentina.

Britain's Labour government announced Tuesday a ban on imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law. The government accused settlers of “ethnic cleansing” through rising attacks on Palestinians. France and Canada also said they were imposing trade curbs on Israeli settlements.

Farage said he emphasised the Falklands issue and its importance to British people, while saying he understood Israel's relationship with Argentine President Javier Milei.

Some right-wing Israeli leaders and commentators, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognise Argentinian sovereignty over the Falklands in retaliation for British sanctions. Milei is a staunch ally of Netanyahu.

Saar said Tuesday that he had also held calls about the sanctions with British Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat and Melissa Lantsman, deputy leader of Canada's Conservatives.