Britain has rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s sarcastic description of the country as an “Islamic Republic of Britain”, calling the remark completely unacceptable.
The diplomatic war of words erupted after Netanyahu made the comment during an interview on an Israeli military radio podcast, while criticising Britain’s position towards Israel.
His remarks echoed a narrative previously promoted by some right-wing politicians and commentators in the West, including claims that parts of Britain are increasingly governed by Islamic law due to rising migration. Such claims have frequently been criticised as Islamophobic rhetoric.
A British Government spokesperson said Netanyahu’s comment was unacceptable and confirmed that the issue had been raised with the Israeli Government.
However, Israeli spokesperson David Mencer appeared to play down Netanyahu’s remarks during an interview with the BBC on Friday, claiming that the Israeli premier was merely referring to comments previously made by others.
“He was only quoting comments made by other people and what the vice-president said,” Mencer said, referring to US Vice-President JD Vance.
Vance had previously sparked controversy in July 2024 after describing Britain as a country that could become the first Islamic nation with nuclear weapons during the Munich Security Conference. The remarks drew criticism from several British leaders at the time.
Britain was among several European countries that recognised a Palestinian state in September last year, a move that drew strong opposition from Israel and further strained relations between the two countries.
Britain’s newly appointed Prime Minister Andy Burnham has also criticised his predecessor, Keir Starmer, saying the former leader did not put enough pressure on Israel to end its military offensive in Gaza.
Before taking office, Burnham told The Guardian that Britain was considering banning trade in goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
Britain, which traditionally maintains close ties with Washington, did not join the initial US-Israeli strikes against Iran on Feb 28.
Netanyahu has long pledged to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, while Tehran has consistently denied seeking to develop such weapons.
Britain and the United States are nuclear-armed states, while Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons despite never publicly acknowledging their existence.
Pakistan became the first Muslim-majority nuclear-armed state in 1998 after conducting nuclear tests in response to simultaneous tests by its traditional rival, India.
