The British government has formally rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he described the United Kingdom as an "Islamic republic" and repeated a provocative claim that Britain could become the first such state with nuclear weapons, adding another diplomatic dispute to already strained UK-Israel relations.
Netanyahu made the remarks during an interview on an Israeli Army Radio podcast while discussing Britain's political direction and recalling the country's relationship with Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. The UK government said it subsequently raised the comments directly with the Israeli government.
"These comments are completely unacceptable and we have conveyed our position to the Israeli government," a British government spokesperson said.
Netanyahu's comments came as he praised Randolph Churchill, the son of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, for his favorable reporting on Israel during the Six-Day War. He contrasted Britain of that period with the country today, describing it as "what is called the Islamic republic of Britain."
The discussion then moved to a broader claim about Britain's future and its status as a nuclear-armed country. After the podcast host suggested Europe was undergoing a similar political transformation, Netanyahu agreed and repeated a remark about Britain becoming an Islamic republic possessing nuclear weapons.
"Yes, but someone said, 'the first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons will be the Islamic republic of Great Britain'," Netanyahu said.
He then connected the comment to Israel's confrontation with Tehran. "So, we'll make sure there isn't a second one here in Iran," Netanyahu added.
The comparison isn't literally accurate. Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, has possessed nuclear weapons since 1998. Britain is also not an Islamic republic; it is a constitutional monarchy with an established Christian church in England.
The diplomatic significance of Netanyahu's remarks lies instead in his characterization of political and demographic changes in Britain. By linking Islam, Britain's political trajectory and the country's nuclear arsenal, the Israeli leader stepped into a sensitive domestic debate at a time when relations between London and Jerusalem are already under pressure.
Those tensions have intensified under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took office on July 20. Burnham has advocated stronger pressure on Netanyahu's government while maintaining Britain's condemnation of Hamas and the Oct. 7 attacks.
Before entering Downing Street, Burnham apologized for what he described as the Labour Party's initial response to the Gaza war and said the party needed to "do better." He has also supported consideration of additional sanctions and restrictions involving trade with illegal Israeli settlements.
Burnham has simultaneously condemned antisemitism in Britain and described Hamas's Oct. 7 attacks as "monstrous," positioning his government's criticism around Israel's conduct of the war rather than support for Hamas.
In early July, Burnham described the suffering in Gaza as "a scar on our collective conscience," arguing that Britain needed to increase pressure on the Israeli government as Palestinian civilian casualties continued.
