Ian Austin, the UK trade envoy to Israel, has said in a post on X that he is currently in Israel to “meet businesses and officials to promote trade with the UK”.

His visit to Israel comes a week after the British government said it was suspending free trade negotiations with Israel due to its military conduct in the war on Gaza.

An earlier post from the UK embassy in Israel said Austin’s itinerary on Monday included visits to Israel’s Institute of Technology – Technion – and a “cutting-edge Customs Scanning Centre”.

Critics say Israel’s economy profits from selling surveillance technology and weapons it tests on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, to countries around the world.