The government has announced a ban on trade between British and Israeli settlements: here’s what you need to know.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the ban would cover both the import of goods and some services to and from Israeli settlements.
Britain – along with major allies France and Canada – has followed the path of some European neighbors as settler expansion and violence rise in the West Bank.
While trade in services between the UK and the settlements is not outlawed entirely, advertising of illegal settlements for sale will be prohibited.
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“Actions” have also been promised against specific companies and individuals who provide construction, infrastructure financing or real estate services. However, Mr Miliband did not name any specific person or organisation.
“So to those who fund or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this. You will face the full force of UK sanctions,” he told the House of Commons.
This follows the trade minister said in July that the government was working to implement the ban and was keen to ensure that it also applied to trade in services.
Chris Bryant said he was concerned about companies in the UK providing mortgages on buildings in settlements, acting as estate agents or providing accounting or legal services in those areas.
The Foreign Secretary said Britain would also impose new sanctions on “extremist settlers” and refuse applications for arms sales and other exports that “substantially contribute to the occupation” – although it is unclear what that phrase includes.
What’s not included?
Notably absent is the blanket ban on trade in services that Mr. Bryant endorsed in July.
Likewise, there was no mention of a general ban on exports to populated areas, only on imports.
How will it work?
Rather than Using existing sanctions rules, Mr Miliband said the government would create a “new comprehensive sanctions regime” to bring the embargo into effect.
He said the regime would be implemented within six to nine months, but did not specify how the measures would be enforced.
The state currently takes such action through the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act (SAMLA).
Why is this happening?
Pressure is growing on the government to take action as Israeli settlements grow and Palestinians face increasing violence and intimidation.
there is an escalation attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, and in recent weeks some of them have houses under siege.
Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory quickly has expanded in recent yearsWith more planned by the government of Israel.
Miliband called the latest Israeli plans to build around 1,200 homes as part of the E1 expansion program in the West Bank an “unacceptable and destructive act”.
The UK government has long opposed such outposts, which believe they are a violation of international law and a threat to the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.
Further pressure comes from a UN Supreme Court advisory opinion from July 2024, which said Israel’s presence in the occupied territories was “illegal.”
The International Court of Justice has stated that all UN member states have an obligation “not to recognize as legitimate the situation resulting from the illegal presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and not to provide aid or assistance in maintaining the situation.”
What are settlements?
A settlement is an Israeli-built village, town or city in occupied Palestinian territory – either in the West Bank or East Jerusalem.
The establishment of settlements can involve the confiscation of land and the displacement of Palestinians, which is illegal under the Geneva Convention, as is the relocation of Israeli civilians to territory occupied by Israel.
Mr Miliband told the House of Commons that areas of the West Bank were experiencing “ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by terrorist settlers” with “homes bulldozed, roads and public infrastructure destroyed, families forced from their homes”.
Israel disputes this, saying it cannot be classified as an occupying power because no country owned the land before it took over the territory in 1967, and it has not resettled its population in the territory; people move freely.
Unlike the UN, Israel officially recognizes and administers some settlements.
Has this been done before?
Spain, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands have previously announced similar trade bans.
But by imposing an embargo covering both the import and export of goods and some services, the UK has one of the most comprehensive bans in Europe.
For example, Ireland and Belgium only prevented trade in goods.
The foreign minister said France and Canada would also ban trade with illegal settlements, and that Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden had pledged to “support further action.”
What do opponents say?
Speaking ahead of the UK government statement, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said it would be “a serious miscalculation, a decision that will end up on the wrong side of history.”
He said the sanctions would “directly harm” Palestinians by “depriving them of business and employment.”
Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Tugendhat told the House of Commons that the illegal settlements were “wrong” and “outrageous” crimes had been committed.
However, he said sanctions would “harm innocent people” because the Israeli and Palestinian economies are “too interconnected.”
The US government has not yet officially responded. However, America’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said ahead of the announcement that the sanctions were “irrational” and he “doesn’t understand what they are supposed to accomplish.”
Other opponents include Labor Friends of Israel (LFI), which said a ban was “virtually impossible and would be a virtual boycott of all of Israel, which would be deeply damaging to the UK’s national interests, the British Jewish community and Palestinian workers.”
Meanwhile, a YouGov poll suggested that every second Briton supported the ban.