‘Completely unacceptable’: UK slams Netanyahu for ‘Islamic republic’ comment

The UK government has criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for calling the UK an "Islamic republic" in an interview. A UK government spokesman said the comments were "completely unacceptable" and that they had raised the matter with the Israeli government.

Netanyahu made the comments during an army radio podcast interview, where he also joked that the UK could be considered the "first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons". According to the New Straits Times and Free Malaysia Today, Netanyahu was referencing a quote from someone else, but also added the comment with a smile.

The Israeli government has downplayed the remark, with spokesman David Mencer saying that Netanyahu was quoting United States Vice President JD Vance. The UK government's criticism of Netanyahu's comments has sparked a diplomatic tit-for-tat between the two countries.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Times of Israel, Euronews, New Straits Times, Free Malaysia Today — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.