Sa'ar and Lammy
Sa'ar and LammyShlomi Amsalem

Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar on Sunday evening met in Jerusalem with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who is visiting Israel.

Minister Sa'ar emphasized that the Israeli government “is interested in a deal to release the hostages and is working to achieve it. The only question is whether Hamas will be ready to make a deal, and we will know that soon.”

The two discussed a number of regional issues, including Iran, Syria, and Lebanon. Minister of Foreign Affairs Sa'ar emphasized during the meeting the need to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

At the end of the meeting, Foreign Secretary Lammy invited Minister of Foreign Affairs Sa'ar to pay an official visit to the UK in the near future.

The previous British government, headed by Rishi Sunak, was supportive of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

Soon after taking office, Lammy said that the new government wants a “balanced position” on the war in the Middle East and will use diplomatic efforts to ensure a ceasefire is reached and hostages held by Hamas are released.

He later announced a partial suspension of arms exports to Israel, explaining, "Facing a conflict such as this, it is this government's legal duty to review Britain's export licenses. This is not a blanket ban, this is not an arms embargo."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer later defended his government's partial suspension of arms exports to Israel as "a legal decision".

He said the decision was taken following a review by the foreign ministry into Israel's conduct of its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"We will of course stand by Israel's right to self-defense but it's important that we are committed to the international rule of law," Starmer added.