UK, France and Canada Sanction Israeli West Bank Settlements

London (GNP): The United Kingdom announced sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, in a coordinated move joined by France and Canada that marks a sharp shift in Western policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Parliament the measures represented the beginning of a new approach, one that moves beyond condemning the situation to taking direct action against it.

The sanctions ban the import of goods produced in West Bank settlements and target companies and individuals involved in settlement expansion across construction, finance, infrastructure and real estate.

Miliband told MPs that the British government regards the situation facing Palestinians in parts of the West Bank as ethnic cleansing carried out by settlers, and said the Israeli government had too often overlooked the issue. Over the next six to nine months, the UK plans to introduce a broader sanctions regime covering its economic relationship with the occupied territory, alongside a ban on advertising West Bank settlements within Britain.

The announcement was accompanied by a joint statement from eleven other nations, including France, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden, expressing commitment to a two-state solution and pledging national measures or support for parallel European restrictions on settlement trade. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the measures were aimed at supporting that outcome rather than at the Israeli public.

Israel’s government reacted with anger. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced the closure of the UK consulate in East Jerusalem and said Britain’s Labour government was acting with hostility toward Israel.

He also confirmed that eleven British MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott, would be barred from entering Israel over allegations of anti-Israel activity, and that UK involvement in training Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank would end. Israeli President Isaac Herzog described the sanctions as interference in a democratic nation’s internal affairs and argued they would harm Palestinians rather than help them.

The dispute unfolded against the backdrop of Israel opening tenders for roughly 1,200 settlement homes in the E1 area east of Jerusalem, a project many governments have long opposed for its potential to sever the West Bank from East Jerusalem.

Miliband said the development would make a two-state solution unworkable. He also referenced the findings of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which he said pointed to growing evidence that war crimes may have occurred during the Gaza war, while adding that the question of genocide remained for international courts to decide.

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Washington signaled it would not follow London’s lead. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters the White House had no comment on the joint action, while the US ambassador to Israel said Washington would respond, warning of a significant economic impact on British businesses.

Miliband also announced new sanctions targeting the financing arm of Hezbollah and additional measures against Iran, aligning the UK with steps already taken by the United States and the European Union.

Miliband said, “The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists.”