London, 15 August (H.S.): The United Kingdom has strongly criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for describing Britain as an “Islamic republic,” calling the remark “completely unacceptable” and saying the issue has been raised with the Israeli government.

The diplomatic exchange followed comments made by Netanyahu during an interview on an army radio podcast, in which he criticised Britain’s position on Israel and referred to the country while discussing its political and foreign-policy approach.

“Would you find that now?” Netanyahu said while referring to the past support for Israel expressed by Winston Churchill’s grandson and namesake. He then suggested that Britain could be described as an “Islamic republic” with nuclear weapons.

A spokesperson for the UK government said the remarks were unacceptable and confirmed that British officials had raised the matter with the Israeli government.

Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer later sought to put the comments in context, saying Netanyahu was quoting a statement previously made by US Vice President JD Vance. Vance had made a similar warning about Britain at the 2024 Munich Security Conference, prompting criticism from senior British politicians at the time.

The latest dispute comes amid increasingly strained relations between Britain and Israel over the Gaza conflict and wider disagreements regarding Israel’s military campaign and the Palestinian issue.

Britain was among several European countries to recognise a Palestinian state last year, a move that drew strong criticism from Israel. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has also indicated that London could consider restrictions on trade involving goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The UK has traditionally maintained close ties with the United States but has also sought to distance itself from Washington and Israel over aspects of the ongoing conflict involving Iran.

Netanyahu has repeatedly said that preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons is a central Israeli objective. Tehran, however, has consistently denied seeking to build nuclear weapons.

Britain and the United States are recognised nuclear-weapon states, while Israel is widely believed to possess a nuclear arsenal, although it has maintained a policy of nuclear ambiguity and has not officially acknowledged having such weapons. Pakistan became the first Muslim-majority nuclear-armed state after conducting nuclear tests in 1998.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar