UK and 11 other states impose settlement trade ban, prompting fierce Israeli response
Britain and 11 other countries, including France, Spain and Canada, have banned trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, drawing sharp Israeli condemnation. In response, Israel closed the UK consulate in East Jerusalem and removed British representatives from an international body coordinating Gaza relief.
Britain, together with 11 other nations, has announced a trade ban on goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The move, which also covers companies providing construction, infrastructure or financial services to settlements, has triggered an unusually angry reaction from Israel.
Israeli authorities closed the UK consulate in East Jerusalem, which served the West Bank and dealt directly with the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, and removed British officials from the International Gaza Support Centre, set up last year to coordinate stabilisation and relief in Gaza. According to BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams, these steps show how deeply Israel is troubled by Tuesday's decision.
The ban follows Britain's formal agreement with the 2024 International Court of Justice ruling that the occupation as a whole, including Israel's military presence, is unlawful. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the government's economic relationships had to reflect that. The measures also restrict arms sales that materially contribute to the occupation and go further than many had expected.
Miliband, who describes himself as a proud British Jew with unwavering support for Israel, spoke in stark terms. He said settler terrorism is rampant and blamed the Israeli government for turning a blind eye to what he called ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in parts of the West Bank. Adams describes this language as remarkable and says British-Israeli relations are now at their lowest ebb in decades.
While some Israelis find settler ideology deeply problematic, many reject the argument that settlements built on land captured in 1967 are illegal. The Palestinian foreign ministry welcomed the new sanctions but called for urgent, concrete measures to stop Israel's settlement enterprise. Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador in London, called the decision a turning point and said Britain's courageous steps could help pave the way for Palestinian statehood on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. Yet he acknowledged that the 59-year occupation has not ended and the prospects for a viable Palestinian state remain very small.
Only the United States has the leverage to reverse Israel's settlement expansion, Adams notes. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush and Secretary of State James Baker threatened to withhold $10 billion in loan guarantees from Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir unless he stopped financing settlement activity. However, President Donald Trump has shown no appetite to curb Benjamin Netanyahu's plans, and US ambassador Mike Huckabee, a fervent Christian Zionist, shares Israel's view that the West Bank was promised to the Jews by God. Tuesday's action thus pits the UK and its partners not only against Israel but also against Israel's main backer in Washington.
