LONDON: The United Kingdom has announced a ban on imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, along with a new package of sanctions targeting settlement expansion and individuals accused of violence against Palestinian communities.
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Parliament that Britain would introduce a comprehensive sanctions regime targeting illegal settlements and those facilitating their expansion.
Announcing the import ban in the House of Commons, Miliband said the British public should not be expected to support the occupation by purchasing products originating from Israeli settlements.
He said the new sanctions framework would include appropriate religious exemptions and would focus specifically on settlements and settlement expansion rather than targeting Israel as a country.
UK accuses settlers of ethnic cleansing
Miliband also accused extremist Israeli settlers of forcing Palestinians from their land and said the UK agreed that ethnic cleansing was taking place in parts of the West Bank.
He accused what he described as “settler terrorists” of driving Palestinian communities from their land and said the Israeli government had, in many cases, failed to prevent such actions.
“The official view of the British government is that the occupation is unlawful,” Miliband told MPs, citing Israel’s continued control over the territory, its alleged intention to extend permanent sovereignty and the expansion of Israeli settlements.
He also warned individuals and organisations facilitating illegal settlement activity that they would face UK sanctions.
Further sanctions against extremist settlers
The foreign secretary announced additional sanctions against a group of extremist settlers accused of supporting or inciting violence against Palestinian communities.
Miliband said Britain would also expand its existing global human rights sanctions regime to enable faster action against settlement expansion.
The measures will include efforts to prevent the development of E1, a proposed settlement area east of Jerusalem that has long been a major point of concern for Palestinians and their international supporters.
The UK will also prohibit advertising for illegal West Bank settlements in Britain under the new measures.
France and Canada to impose import bans
Miliband said France and Canada would also announce bans on imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
He said they would join countries including the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway, which have either already introduced restrictions on settlement goods or are moving towards similar measures.
According to Miliband, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden have also pledged to support further action.
The announcements represent a significant escalation in Britain’s measures concerning Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and come amid growing international criticism of settlement expansion and violence against Palestinian communities.
Miliband said the policy reflected Britain’s commitment to opposing oppression and suffering and defending what the government considers its core values at home and abroad.
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