UK, France, Canada to ban imports from Israeli settlements / Photo: © AFP
UK, France, Canada to ban imports from Israeli settlements
Britain, France and Canada said Tuesday 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 trio of 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," said Britain's foreign minister Ed Miliband, announcing the import ban and other measures in 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 joint statement saying they planned to introduce or support restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements.
Within hours, Israel 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, including dates, grapes, avocados, citrus fruits, and some vegetables and aromatic herbs. They also market 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.
- 'End trade' -
Ireland and Spain have already taken measures against trade with Israeli 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 said "unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion" in the West Bank threatened prospects for a two-state solution to the conflict.
The E1 settlement 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.
Addressing MPs flanked by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Miliband -- the son of Jewish immigrant parents -- also vowed "action against specific companies and individuals who provide services such as construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate for settlement expansion".
In a statement posted on X, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France "will end trade" with settlements in the occupied territories.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would not join the new sanctions, saying Washington does not want to destabilise the West Bank.
- Toughening UK stance -
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue establishing the settlements -- illegal under international law.
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.
The UK government's move and hardening rhetoric signals a toughening of its stance towards Israel under Burnham, who replaced Keir Starmer 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.
(V.Sørensen--DTZ)
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