Is Britain leading a European shift on Israel?

British foreign secretary Ed Miliband announced the new sanctions against Israeli settlements on Tuesday [Getty]

Britain has imposed its most extensive measures yet against Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, prompting a furious response from Israel and raising questions over whether London is leading a broader European shift in relations with the country.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced on Tuesday that the UK would ban imports from Israeli settlements and introduce new sanctions targeting companies and individuals involved in financing, constructing or otherwise facilitating their expansion.

France and Canada announced similar import bans alongside Britain, while nine other countries backed further restrictions on settlement trade.

Israel responded by ordering the closure of Britain’s consulate in occupied East Jerusalem, expelling UK personnel involved in coordinating aid to Gaza and supporting the Palestinian Authority, and banning 12 British politicians and other nationals from entering the country.

The measures mark a significant escalation in British pressure on Israel, but stop well short of broader sanctions or a boycott of the country itself.

So how far has British policy actually shifted, and is London leading a wider European move from diplomatic condemnation of Israel towards imposing tangible economic costs?

What has the UK actually done?

At the centre of the new British policy is a ban on imports of all goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, which the government says will be implemented within six to nine months.

London is also establishing a broader sanctions regime allowing it to target companies and individuals providing construction, infrastructure, financing and real estate services that facilitate settlement expansion.

Advertising Israeli settlement properties in Britain will be prohibited, while additional extremist settlers accused of supporting or inciting violence against Palestinians have been sanctioned.

The government has also widened restrictions on arms exports. Britain had previously suspended more than 30 licences for weapons that could be used by the Israeli military in Gaza, but will now refuse applications for arms and other exports that “materially contribute to the occupation”.

Miliband also formally accepted the International Court of Justice’s conclusion that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful.

Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu), told The New Arab that the measures had represented a “major departure for Britain”.

“It transforms the British official position from being a declaratory one that says that Israel’s settlements are illegal and an obstacle to peace to one where it is prepared to take action to uphold international law,” he said.

Previous British measures had largely focused on individual extremist settlers and a small number of organisations, Doyle said, whereas the latest package targets the wider economic structures supporting settlement expansion.

“The broad nature of the measures demonstrates that this is a significant step change,” he added.

But there are clear limits to that change.

The government has explicitly confined its new trade measures to settlements rather than Israel itself and has pledged to maintain what Miliband called “important and valued trade” with Israel within the Green Line.

Miliband also reiterated his opposition to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which advocates broader economic pressure on Israel. The measures therefore remain considerably short of the comprehensive economic sanctions and boycott demanded by Palestinian civil society groups and other advocates of isolating Israel economically.

Is Britain leading Europe?

The announcement nevertheless comes amid a broader change in European policy towards Israel.

France and Canada joined Britain in announcing settlement import bans on Tuesday, while Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium have already introduced or begun developing restrictions on settlement goods.

Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden have meanwhile pledged to support further action.

Doyle believes Britain has played a leading role in accelerating that process.

“It was Britain that signalled it was going to do it. It was Britain that took all the flak from Israel and the United States and their supporters,” he said.

“The other countries, some of whom had already made such bans, sailed in behind the British position.”

The distinction is important. Britain is not the first European country to take action against settlement trade, and several European governments had already moved ahead of London.

But its position as one of Europe’s largest economies and Israel’s longstanding allies makes the shift politically significant, particularly if it encourages coordinated action outside the European Union’s often divided foreign policy structures.

The measures also go beyond simply banning settlement produce.

Targeting financing, construction and other services potentially exposes companies with links to the settlement enterprise to sanctions, increasing the possible economic consequences beyond the relatively small value of goods directly exported from settlements.

Whether that develops into broader pressure on Israel remains an open question.

Europe collectively possesses considerably greater economic leverage through its trade and investment relationship with Israel, but governments remain divided over how far they are prepared to use it.

Britain’s own policy illustrates that boundary: it is increasingly prepared to impose economic consequences over the occupation while simultaneously maintaining normal commercial relations with Israel itself.

Will the pressure change Israeli policy?

Israel’s response suggests Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government views the measures as more than symbolic.

Israel has given Britain 30 days to close its historic consulate in occupied East Jerusalem and is removing British personnel involved in Gaza aid coordination and programmes supporting the Palestinian Authority.

Doyle argued that the retaliation would primarily harm Palestinians rather than Britain.

“All of these measures impinge far more on Palestinians than they do on Britain,” he said, arguing that they would hinder British assistance to Palestinians in the occupied territories and Gaza.

Closing the East Jerusalem consulate, he added, also “significantly tries to sever the link between Palestinians and East Jerusalem by closing down that British diplomatic presence in the city”.

London has so far shown no indication that the Israeli response will force it to reverse course.

“I do not think that the British government is in the mood to be bullied on this and is not going to back down as a result of these measures,” Doyle said.

But he was equally sceptical that the new international pressure would force Israel to change course.

“Nor, on the other hand, do I believe that this current Israeli government is going to back off as a result of all the measures announced by the 12 states.”

That leaves Britain’s policy at an important juncture.

The latest measures represent a substantial change from years in which London condemned illegal settlements while imposing relatively limited material consequences for their expansion.

But whether Britain is leading a lasting transformation in Europe’s relationship with Israel will depend on what comes next – whether other governments follow with stronger measures, whether pressure expands beyond the settlements, and ultimately whether European states are prepared to use their much greater economic leverage over Israel itself.