The UK government said Tuesday that it's banning trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where it says "settler terrorists" are carrying out "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said that the UK will ban imports of all goods from the settlements, and some services including financing, construction, infrastructure, real estate, and advertising for settlements. He said that France and Canada would also ban trade in goods from settlements, reports the AP. It's a significant toughening of Britain's stance toward longtime ally Israel, whose conduct toward the Palestinians under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has increasingly been criticized by the UK and other Israeli allies.
"The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists," Miliband said. He said there had been "houses bulldozed, roads and public infrastructure destroyed, families displaced from their homes." He said that he feels "a deep sense of shame about what has unfolded in Palestine under the eyes of the international community." "We will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution," Miliband said. The ban on trade would be in place in six to nine months, he said. He said that Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden have pledged to "support further action." The Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain, and Norway have either banned goods from settlements or are in the process of doing so, he said.
Miliband also tightened Britain's embargo on weapons sales to Israel for use in Gaza to include arms "that materially contribute to the occupation" of Palestinian territories. The United Kingdom, a longtime ally of Israel, recognized Palestinian statehood last year in an attempt to revive dwindling efforts to achieve a two-state solution. The center-left Labour Party government has previously sanctioned some Israeli settlers and illegal outposts over violence against Palestinians and illegal development in the West Bank. But some Labour members expressed concern that the move could boost support for Netanyahu, who is facing a tough battle for reelection in October, or lead to attacks on British Jews.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that the ban would be "a grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history." "In the current context, it would be a gross interference in the democratic elections of a sovereign nation," he said. Senior Israeli ministers also condemned the UK government's position before the actual announcement was made. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar warned that "if Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain." The move was also criticized by the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who said that it was "discrimination against the Jewish people." He said that the UK could face "repercussions or retaliations" from the US.
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