UK recognises 'ethnic cleansing' in West Bank, sanctions settlements and declares Israeli occupation illegal
The British government has recognised the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, declared the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and announced both comprehensive sanctions on Israeli settlements and a ban on all arms licences and other exports that "materially contribute to the occupation."
France and Canada will also ban trade in settlement goods today, marking a significant diplomatic victory for the British government.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said in parliament on Tuesday afternoon that "the official view of the British government is that the occupation is unlawful because because of Israel's entrenchment of its control, its intention to extend permanent sovereignty and its expansionist agenda via illegal settlements."
This means the UK has accepted the 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which said the occupation is unlawful and placed a duty on states to oppose it.
Miliband said: "The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank perpetrated by settler terrorists.
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"And all too often, the Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this, and worse, members of it have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians."
Miliband announced: "I do not believe the British people want us supporting the occupation by accepting products from settlements in our shops and supermarkets, so I can announce today that we will introduce an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories."
The foreign secretary said there would be "a new comprehensive sanctions regime… with appropriate religious exemptions."
He added: "We will take action against specific companies and individuals who provide services such as construction, infrastructure financing or real estate for settlement expansion.
"So to those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this: You will face the full force of UK sanctions. Settlements are illegal. They should not be promoted in our country."
Eleven other countries - Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden - signed a joint statement with Britain published on Tuesday saying they "confirm their intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law, or that they are actively considering these and other measures, in accordance with their national procedures".
'To those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this: You will face the full force of UK sanctions
- Ed Miliband, Foreign Secretary
Miliband also said in parliament that there is "increasing evidence that war crimes appear to have been committed" in Gaza.
On the issue of arms sales, he said: "We've already suspended over 30 arms licences used by the IDF in Gaza. That suspension remains fully in place.
"We will now also refuse all licence applications for arms and other exports that materially contribute to the occupation - in effect, a double lock against arms sales."
Miliband added: "This means the ban on such exports will now remain in place as long as the occupation persists."
But he stopped short of accusing Israel of genocide, saying "the UK has always supported full, robust and fair judicial processes to consider allegations, with final determinations made by competent courts before the British government reaches a conclusion."
He added: "It is right this issue has been brought before the ICJ, and I want to I want to make it clear that we support the court in coming to its determination."
Whitehall sources have told MEE that the measures announced on Tuesday should be understood as the start of a new approach to foreign policy, and are expected to be followed by further measures.
Diplomatically isolating Israel
Middle East Eye was first to reveal in August that Andy Burnham's government had decided to ban settlement goods.
Burnham has not spoken to his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, since he became prime minister in July. He reportedly briefed President Donald Trump on his plans to introduce sanctions on Israel on Monday afternoon.
Downing Street has taken an unusually bold step in angering Washington by pressing ahead with announcing the sanctions.
The United States privately urged the British government not to go ahead with the measures, MEE understands. But France and Canada announcing sanctions is likely to make Britain's move more consequential by heaping international pressure on Israel over its settlement expansion.
The three countries acting together will further be perceived as a significant rebuke to US policy in the Middle East by historically close American allies.
Tayab Ali, the director of the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, told MEE: "This is a real shift in UK policy, and Ed Miliband deserves credit for it.
"The government has now accepted that the occupation as a whole is unlawful, and has gone beyond settlement goods to cover services, financing and those who facilitate settlement expansion."
Ali added: "The detail will need close scrutiny. These measures have to be comprehensive and properly enforced, with no loopholes for companies or financial institutions to exploit.
"The government should now review its whole relationship with Israel, identify where the UK is supporting or assisting the unlawful occupation, directly or indirectly, and end it."
'This will send a very strong signal'
Chris Doyle, the director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, told MEE: "In contrast to what some people predicted, this was a major announcement".
Doyle said Miliband's statement echoed "what he told me in a meeting yesterday, alongside others, that he wanted to take action that brought about a meaningful change on the ground."
He added that "this will send a very strong signal that enough is enough" to the Israeli government, and described the restrictions on arms sales as a sign that the British government "means business" and is on the side of international law.
The Labour Muslim Network, meanwhile, said: "This is an important and long-overdue step, and one the Labour Muslim Network has campaigned for over many years. We believe that these measures can represent a historic and tangible start, with more steps in the days ahead, to ensure Palestinians see justice and freedom."
The ban is domestically popular, as new polling conducted by Opinium and published by the European Council on Foreign Relations shows that 46 percent of British adults support the ban on trade with Israeli settlements, while only 18 percent opposed it.
That support rises to nearly three-quarters when people who did not have an opinion are excluded from the figures.
The new measures come at a pivotal moment, as Israel's new E1 settlement project east of Jerusalem is poised to effectively cut the occupied West Bank in two.
Britain's settlement goods ban could therefore have a significant impact.
As Ben Jamal, until recently the director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, put it: "Such a ban has been a core demand of the Palestine solidarity movement for many years, as a key basic step towards ending UK complicity with Israel’s violations of international law."
'This sanction requires teeth'
The Council for Arab-British Understanding's chair, MP Alistair Carmichael, welcomed the ban on Tuesday, saying: "A UK ban on settlement trade is welcome, but the minimum of what is needed in the face of a frenzy of settlement expansion.
"This sanction requires teeth. Israel has to be held to account for its flagrant violations of international law, and hopefully this is the start."
Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur on the occupied territories, said that a settlement trade ban must be part of "a true paradigm shift to Israel-Palestine that ultimately seeks to implement the International Court of Justice advisory opinion in 2024".
Elsewhere, the Jewish Leadership Council condemned the government's "punitive and unbalanced approach towards Israel".
"The Foreign Secretary says that he will not accept the destruction of the two-state solution. Yet, through the trade ban announced today, the government is placing the overwhelming responsibility for that on Israel." The group said in a statement.
It said the sanctions do "nothing to advance peace, risks harming Jewish life in Britain, and damages the UK's relationship with a vital ally".
Last week, the Israeli government threatened Britain with retaliation over the expected measures. "If Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar warned.
Then, on Monday night, Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich called for Israel to sanction Britain over the Falkland Islands. Smotrich, Israel's finance minister, called for the expulsion of the British ambassador to Israel and said: "We will not be a trampled doormat of an antisemitic government, in a country conquered by radical Islam, trying to save itself from economic and social decline by attacking Jews and the State of Israel. The British Mandate in the Land of Israel is over."
Ben Gvir, the national security minister, posted on X in Spanish: "I call upon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognise Argentina's sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands [the Argentine name for the Falkland Islands] and to impose sanctions on Great Britain as long as the occupation continues."
Argentina and the UK both assert sovereignty over the South Atlantic archipelago, but the vast majority of the territory's 3,600 residents back British rule.
Last week, Argentina's President Javier Milei declared that Argentina's national sovereignty had been "violated" and that his country would defend its interests "tooth and nail, no matter who it bothers".
Milei threatened sanctions on oil firms that seek to drill around the Falkland Islands, adding that the "winds of change" favoured Argentina's claim to them.
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