UK bans imports from Israeli settlements in West Bank

Britain will ban imports of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced Tuesday, a move aimed at pressuring Israel over settlement expansion and one that drew swift warnings from Israel and the United States.

Miliband told the House of Commons that the government would introduce an import ban on settlement goods and create a comprehensive sanctions regime. He said Britain could no longer simply “call out” injustice and suffering, but had to “act” against policies it says are damaging the prospects for a two-state solution.

“Today we refuse to be bystanders to further suffering and to the destruction of the two-state solution,” Miliband said.

The British government says the measures are part of a “reset” in relations with Israel. They are expected to target goods originating specifically from settlements, rather than Israeli products more broadly. NPR reported that the measures are understood to be limited but symbolically significant and will not take effect immediately.

Miliband sought to distinguish between Israel’s citizens and its government. “Our argument is not with the people of Israel, with whom the U.K. has unshakeable bonds, our argument is with the conduct of its government,” he told lawmakers.

He also said Britain’s position is that the occupation in the West Bank is unlawful. “The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists,” Miliband said, citing “houses bulldozed, roads and public infrastructure destroyed, families displaced from their homes.”

Canada and France announced similar bans on goods from Israeli settlements in a joint statement, with France also pressing for an EU-wide ban. Ireland, Spain, Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands have already taken steps to restrict trade in settlement goods or are in the process of doing so.

The United States criticized the British move through its ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who called it “irrational” and warned of possible repercussions for British businesses in the U.S.

“I don’t understand what it’s supposed to achieve,” Huckabee told the BBC’s Today programme. “If the U.K. is really interested in dealing with issues they feel like are wrong, where are the sanctions against North Korea, China, Russia?”

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke to President Trump on Monday before the announcement, NPR reported. According to a Downing Street readout of the call, Burnham stressed the U.K.’s commitment to peace and security in the region and the importance of a two-state solution.

Israel has warned it will respond. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has threatened consequences, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for the British ambassador to Israel to be expelled. Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “close the British consulate in East Jerusalem,” accusing it of operating “openly on behalf of the Palestinian Authority” and calling for a “resolute response” to what he described as British “audacity.”

The impact on annual bilateral trade between Britain and Israel, worth about £6 billion, or $8.12 billion, is likely to be minimal, Al Jazeera reported, while noting that details remain unclear on how Britain will distinguish goods made in settlements from products made in Israel. Opponents of the measures warn that, if they are not tightly defined, the sanctions could evolve into broader restrictions on Israeli goods, services and companies.