15 Jan Leading Arab human rights group calls for UK government to sanction Israeli prime minister
On 15th Jan 2026, a leading Arab human rights NGO has filed a request for UK sanctions against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – a move believed to be the first of its kind directed specifically at a sitting Israeli Prime Minister.
DPG lodged the request with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on behalf of the Arab Organisation for Human Rights UK (AOHR UK), seeking targeted financial and travel sanctions against Mr. Netanyahu over violations against Palestinians.
While the UK has previously sanctioned individual Israeli ministers and officials connected to violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, most notably on 10 June 2025, when sanctions were imposed on Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, this submission seeks sanctions against the Prime Minister himself. The request addresses Mr Netanyahu’s personal responsibility as head of government and ultimate decision-maker, citing command responsibility, incitement to violence and genocide against Palestinians, and involvement in serious violations of international law.
The submission relies on findings and determinations of the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and multiple United Nations bodies, published after the UK’s previous imposition of sanctions. It focuses on the direct authorisation and oversight of military operations in Gaza and settlement expansion in the West Bank, rather than isolated acts by subordinate officials.
AOHR UK has submitted extensive evidence relating to Mr. Netanyahu’s conduct and his suspected involvement in grave violations of international law in Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and across occupied Palestine. The organisation notes that despite a declared ceasefire, the unlawful killing of Palestinians continues.
“The UK has already acknowledged that senior Israeli officials have promoted serious abuses of Palestinian rights,” says Mohammed Jamil of AOHR UK “It is no longer credible to sanction ministers while exempting the Prime Minister who authorises, endorses, and directs the policies in question. Accountability cannot stop short of the highest office.”
Key grounds for the sanctions request
The submission argues that there are reasonable grounds for sanctions under the UK’s Global Human Rights Sanctions regime, including:
- Incitement of violence and genocide against Palestinians
The submission highlights public statements by the Prime Minister, invoking religiously framed genocidal rhetoric such as invoking Biblical references to the destruction of the “Amalek,” and repeatedly rejecting the existence of a Palestinian people or state. UN bodies have cited these statements as contributing to an environment of dehumanisation and mass violence. Despite a declared ceasefire in Gaza, the Prime Minister has continued to use such rhetoric publicly.
The submission states that there are “reasonable grounds to suspect that Mr Netanyahu’s statements amounted to incitement to commit Genocide, i.e. incitement to commit prohibited acts with specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinian people in Gaza” (para. 65).
- Responsibility for unlawful military operations in Gaza
As Israel’s highest-ranking official, Mr. Netanyahu is alleged to bear responsibility for military operations resulting in targeted and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, strikes on hospitals, UN facilities and humanitarian convoys, and the use of starvation as a method of warfare through severe restrictions on food, water, fuel, electricity and medical supplies.
The submission notes that Mr. Netanyahu “has taken no steps to restrain military operations preventing the targeting of civilians and protected objects in Gaza. Further, there have been no disciplinary proceedings initiated against military personnel for serious violations of the rights of Palestinians in the conduct of the war….” (para. 109)
- Expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank
The submission highlights Mr. Netanyahu’s active role in expanding illegal settlements in the West Bank, including rejecting the possibility of a Palestinian state and declaring that all territory west of the Jordan River must remain under Israeli control. Notable actions include signing agreements to push forward settlement expansion plans, legitimizing Israeli sovereignty over occupied land, and approving 19 new Jewish settlements in December 2025, including retroactive legalization of outposts. These policies have been condemned by the UK government, as well as the UN and NGOs. They amount to clear attempts to annex the West Bank, forcibly displace Palestinians, and perpetuate a system of apartheid and persecution, in direct violation of international law and UN resolutions.
A call to Parliament
AOHR UK urges Members of Parliament and Peers from across all parties to publicly support the submission and press the Government to act in line with its stated commitment to international law.
Senior members of the Government, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and former Foreign Secretary David Lammy, have previously stated that Israel must comply with international law and have described aspects of its conduct in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territory as intolerable.
For further information, contact mail@dpglaw.co.uk
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