LONDON (VINnews) — Andy Burnham, widely viewed as a leading contender to succeed Prime Minister Keir Starmer as leader of Britain’s Labour Party, said Thursday that a government under his leadership would take a tougher stance toward Israel, including considering additional sanctions and restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements.

In an interview with The Guardian, Burnham apologized for Labour’s initial response to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, saying the party “didn’t get it right” and should have acted more forcefully.

Burnham said Britain should increase pressure on Israel by considering additional sanctions against individuals and entities and examining a ban on imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

He also said the U.K. was too slow to call for a ceasefire and argued that more should be done to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

While expressing concern over reports of possible war crimes, Burnham declined to characterize Israel’s actions as genocide, saying such determinations should be made by international courts rather than politicians.

Burnham also sought to reassure Britain’s Jewish community, reiterating his condemnation of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and pledging to maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward antisemitism.

“There is no contradiction between a zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism and holding the Netanyahu government to account,” Burnham said.