The United Kingdom, France, and Canada announced on Tuesday that they are leading a joint initiative of 12 countries to restrict trade in products from Israeli settlements, through national measures and European actions.
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The leaders of the three countries agreed on “the need to take measures to prevent further harm,” citing the expansion of settlements, such as the controversial E1 project near Jerusalem and the actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government which, they said, are “undermining the possibility of a two-state solution.”
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden joined the statement.
“The United Kingdom, France, and Canada welcome the important measures already taken by Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and Belgium, and will introduce national measures to ban trade in goods from settlements,” the joint statement said.
The countries added that they “strongly oppose actions amounting to the annexation of Palestinian land and the forced displacement of the Palestinian population.”
They also called on the Israeli government to “immediately stop the expansion of settlements and civil administrative powers, ensure accountability for settler violence, and investigate allegations against Israeli forces.”
Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, was quick to respond and announced the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem, as well as the expulsion of British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat, southern Israel.
In this regard, Saar reported “the termination of British training activities for the Palestinian Authority forces in Judea and Samaria (as the Israeli government calls the West Bank), within the framework of the ‘British Support Team in Ramallah.’”
“The denial of entry to Israel to 12 elected British representatives and other British citizens involved in anti-Semitic and anti-Israel activities, as well as those who deny the very existence of the State of Israel,” he added.
In what has been considered the strongest condemnation ever issued by the British government, Foreign Minister Ed Miliband said that Israeli “terrorists” are carrying out ethnic cleansing in the West Bank with the tacit support of the government.
Miliband stated that the government would now adopt the official position that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank is entirely illegal, asserting that such recognition is “the least that people suffering such hardship deserve. And it should be the prelude to justice.”
In this regard, he said the government would now enact the following measures: a ban on imports of products from illegal settlements in the occupied territories; a comprehensive sanctions regime against the provision of services such as construction or financing of Israeli settlements; and a ban on advertising in the UK of properties located in illegal settlements. Additionally, it will impose personal sanctions against key individuals accused of promoting settler violence.
It will also impose a new ban on arms licenses and other exports that “materially contribute to the occupation.”
Miliband said this action would demonstrate that “Great Britain does not remain silent in the face of profound injustice, nor is it powerless.” In an emotional statement, he described the anguish he had heard from Palestinians in the West Bank, whose homes had been destroyed, and from doctors in Gaza, who had seen children die while waiting for medical care.
The United Kingdom is one of Israel’s strongest allies in the West, but since the Labour Party returned to power after more than a decade in opposition, in July 2024, some of the government’s policies and rhetoric have changed.
The Guardian newspaper indicated that the UK’s actions have become increasingly urgent due to “Israel’s plans to expand the E1 settlement project east of Jerusalem, which could, in fact, isolate the north from the south of the West Bank, threatening the viability of any future Palestinian state.”
Miliband stated that those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements “would face the full weight of UK sanctions” and that he expected legislation to enforce the trade ban and sanctions to be in place within nine months.
He avoided labeling Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, stating that the UK would await the decision of international courts.
“The British government agrees that ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is taking place in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by terrorist settlers,” Miliband said in his Tuesday speech in the House of Commons.
“Too often, the Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this situation and, worse, some of its members have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians. I recognize the gravity of saying this, but the truth is the least that those suffering such hardship deserve. And it should be the prelude to justice,” he added.
The UK still maintains diplomatic relations and supplies parts for the F-35 through the global supply program to which Israel has access. On the other hand, it has suspended some arms export licenses and has more frequently condemned the conduct of the Israeli Army and settlers.
“Obviously, the rhetoric differs among them (the British prime ministers), but in practice, the Israeli regime operates the same as before, regardless of whether Andy Burnham or (former Conservative Prime Minister) Rishi Sunak was in charge,” Zena Agha, political analyst for the British-Palestinian Committee, told Al Jazeera. “We are seeing more of a continuation than a break.”
In Israel, the Israel Hayom portal indicated, officials are convinced that the decision does not respond to foreign policy considerations, but to Burnham’s internal political needs ahead of the Labour Party conference, scheduled for September 27. Shortly after taking office following Keir Starmer’s resignation, Burnham promised the anti-Israel left wing of his party that he would adopt a much tougher policy towards Israel than his predecessor.
“According to diplomatic sources, at this stage it is expected that most, if not all, measures will amount to statements of intent. Such steps require regulatory and legal frameworks and, therefore, are unlikely to be implemented before the formation of a new Israeli government,” the portal said.
Prior to the declaration, prominent members of Jewish civil society organizations—such as Survivors and Descendants of the Holocaust Against the Gaza Genocide (HSD), Jewish Voice for Liberation (formerly Jewish Voice for Labour), and Jews for Justice for Palestinians—wrote to Burnham urging him to take stronger measures against Israel and to “oppose any new attempts to silence Palestinian marches.”
Supporters of this measure, including many members of the Labour left, argue that it was about time: violence and discriminatory planning policies are out of control, and as a result, the Palestinian presence in the West Bank is visibly shrinking.
However, opponents, including some UK Jewish groups and independent experts, argue that attempting to ban trade with the settlements could, unintentionally, affect Israel’s main economy.
They claim that three years after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, Burnham would essentially be leading a boycott against the world’s only Jewish country, which could place part of its economy in the same legal situation as Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
This planned measure also carries the risk of a first major disagreement between the new British prime minister and US President Donald Trump, whose administration reacted angrily when Ireland enacted a similar set of measures earlier this year, The Telegraph newspaper highlighted.
According to a Downing Street statement, Burnham and Trump spoke by phone on Monday and both leaders addressed a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinian territories. This suggests that Burnham used the call to inform Trump about the imminent imposition of sanctions on Israel.
Miliband, Bloomberg notes, has also considered expanding existing human rights sanctions to include obstruction of humanitarian aid, which is blamed for worsening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Foreign Minister has also contemplated explicitly supporting the 2024 non-binding opinion of the International Court of Justice, which declares the Israeli occupation of the territory that Britain recognizes as the State of Palestine illegal.
Nevertheless, British officials are concerned that the announcement could represent an initial setback for Burnham’s relationship with Trump. British diplomats have privately communicated to the United States that the sanctions are largely symbolic and will not have a significant impact on the overall UK-Israel relationship in trade or security, in an attempt to appease the Trump administration’s response, according to sources close to the matter.
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