Israeli sources have expressed their anger at British Foreign Minister David Lamy and French Foreign Minister Stephane Le Foll removing the yellow pin from their lapels when they met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa in Ramallah last Friday.

The two ministers had worn the pins, which indicate sympathy for the Israeli hostages, when they met their Israeli counterpart Israel Katz and removed them when they met with Mustafa. The British newspaper “Mail on Sunday” quoted Elon Levy, a former Israeli government spokesman, as saying, “If they had kept the pins, it would have sent a strong message: Stop making excuses for Hamas, ask them to release the prisoners.”

Israeli reports indicated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to meet with the British Foreign Secretary during his visit to Israel.

Netanyahu angry over new British government’s decision to withdraw objections to ICC considering issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Galant

Hebrew reports indicated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to meet with the British Foreign Secretary during his visit to Israel last Friday, due to the British government’s decision to withdraw its objections to the ICC considering issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Galant.

According to Channel 13 News and the Times of Israel, the British government submitted several requests to hold a meeting with Netanyahu, but the response was negative on the pretext of Netanyahu’s “timetable.”

Reports indicated that Netanyahu was angry over Keir Starmer’s government withdrawing its objection to the ICC’s decision.

In late July, Downing Street announced that the new British Labor government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had backed down from a project launched by the Conservatives to challenge the request to issue an international arrest warrant for Netanyahu before the International Criminal Court.

A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister’s Office said: “This was a proposal from the previous government that was not presented before the elections, and what I can confirm is that the government will not adopt it, in line with our firm position that the decision is up to the judiciary.”

On the other hand, the British website “Middle East Eye” quoted a source in the British Foreign Office as denying that there were any plans for Lamy to meet Netanyahu.

Mustafa met with the two ministers and discussed with them advancing efforts to stop the Israeli war on Gaza. He called on both countries to recognize the Palestinian state.

According to a statement issued by the Palestinian Prime Minister’s Office, Mustafa discussed with the two ministers “advancing efforts to stop the war of extermination against our people in the Gaza Strip and to enhance relief efforts in the Gaza Strip, and to stop the escalation of the occupation army and settlers and their attacks in the West Bank.”