Britain, France and Canada have said they will ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, with a UK minister accusing Israel of turning a blind eye to the “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians there
The moves prompted a furious Israel to unveil immediate counter-measures targeting Britain
The three Western allies revealed the trade curbs in response to Israel’s West Bank settlements policy and reports of increasing attacks by settlers there against Palestinians
“The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank — perpetrated by settler terrorists,” British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told parliament
“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”
London, Paris and Ottawa joined nine other European countries in issuing a statement saying they planned to introduce or support restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements
Later Tuesday, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian leader Mark Carney warned in another joint declaration that the settlements “pose a direct and urgent threat” to a two-state solution to the conflict
Earlier, Israel had announced its angry response, ordering the closure of Britain’s consulate in Jerusalem and banning 12 Britons from visiting the country, including lawmakers from the governing Labour party
Israel said it would also expel British diplomats at a centre monitoring the US-brokered ceasefire plan in Gaza and bar British training for Palestinian Authority forces
“The accusations made today by the foreign secretary in the British parliament were outrageous lies,” said Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar
The settlements mainly export agricultural products, as well as wine, Dead Sea cosmetics and various industrial products
Trade between the UK and the occupied Palestinian Territories was only around £38 million ($51 million) in 2025, according to the British government
Ireland and Spain have already taken measures against trade with settlements, and France has for weeks been pushing for a similar decision from the European Union, Israel’s leading trading partner, but has been blocked by some members
Tuesday’s joint foreign ministers’ statement was also signed by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden
They criticised “unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion” in the West Bank
In France, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X the country “will end trade” with settlements there
However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would not join the new sanctions, noting Washington does not want to destabilise the occupied territory
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue establishing the settlements – illegal under international law
The E1 plan – approved by Israel last year after decades of being frozen – would see 1,200 housing units built and further isolate Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank
The approval was widely condemned
Israel has already faced intense international criticism over its relentless offensive that flattened much of Gaza following the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas militants
In his statement, Miliband – the son of Jewish immigrant parents – said companies and individuals that provide services such as construction, financing, or real estate for settlements would face UK sanctions
Advertising or promoting land and property within Israeli settlements will be prohibited in Britain, his foreign ministry confirmed
It said five more individuals accused of inciting and conducting violent attacks against Palestinians, including in the West Bank, had also been newly sanctioned
London has now hit 38 people with sanctions over settler activity, according to the ministry
The moves signal a toughening stance towards Israel under Burnham, who replaced Keir Starmer as prime minister in July
Starmer’s government last year formally recognised a Palestinian state and announced sanctions on selected entities
More than 500,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements in the West Bank, among some three million Palestinians
According to an AFP tally based on data from the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 1,105 Palestinians in the territory since the start of the Gaza war
Israel on Tuesday ordered the closure of Britain’s consulate in Jerusalem as retaliation after London led Western sanctions over violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank
Israel said it would also expel British representatives at a centre monitoring the US-brokered ceasefire plan in Gaza, bar British training for Palestinian Authority forces and ban 12 Britons, mostly members of parliament, from visiting
It came after 12 countries including Britain, Canada and France announced they would sanction trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, following a surge in settler attacks against Palestinians in the occupied territory
“The accusations made today by the foreign secretary in the British Parliament were outrageous lies,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said, after his British counterpart Ed Miliband accused Israeli settlers of “ethnic cleansing” in the West Bank
“The British move is morally distorted and constitutes blatant interference in the affairs of a sovereign state and in its electoral process,” he said, ahead of close-fought October 27 elections in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is championing settlements in the West Bank
Saar said Israel was closing the British consulate which lies in east Jerusalem, part of the historically Palestinian area that Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War Israel later annexed east Jerusalem and considers the holy city its undivided capital.
“United Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and is under its full sovereignty,” Saar said
“Any foreign activity in the area must be conducted through accepted and agreed channels and without violating Israel’s sovereignty”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday the United States will not join Britain-led sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements and that it does not want anything to destabilize the West Bank
“Obviously, we’re not going to do what the UK did,” Rubio told journalists of the sanctions before departing on a trip to Latin America
He added: “We don’t want to see anything destabilizing going on right now in the West Bank with so much going on in the region”
Twelve countries including Britain, Canada and France announced earlier in the day that they would impose sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank
The action follows weeks of increasing attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian villages in the illegally occupied territory The violence has drawn widespread condemnation from the international community.
The foreign ministers of the 12 countries said in a statement that actions by the Israeli government in the West Bank were undermining the possibility of a two-state solution, referring to a plan under which two states – one Israeli and one Palestinian – would live peacefully side by side
Israel ordered the closure of Britain’s consulate in Jerusalem in retaliation for the sanctions effort