{"id":283469,"date":"2026-09-08T11:44:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T11:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/283469\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T11:44:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T11:44:53","slug":"uk-to-ban-goods-from-israeli-settlements-in-the-west-bank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/283469\/","title":{"rendered":"UK to ban goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONDON (AP) \u2014 Britain is set to ban goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank<\/a> in response to an expansion program<\/a> that is imperiling efforts to establish a Palestinian state, the U.K. government said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is due to give details in the House of Commons later, after saying last week that he would \u201creset\u201d U.K. relations with Israel.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a significant toughening of Britain\u2019s stance towards Israel, whose conduct towards the Palestinians under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> has increasingly been criticized by the U.K. and other Israeli allies. Under Netanyahu\u2019s ultranationalist government, settlement construction<\/a> in the West Bank has surged.<\/p>\n

The international community overwhelmingly considers such construction to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.<\/p>\n

Before the announcement, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said that it \u201cisn\u2019t intended to be a boycott of all Israeli goods.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that the measures were \u201cspecifically targeted at the expansion of these settlements, which are illegal under international law, in the West Bank.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the heart of the statement is the idea that the U.K., along with many other countries, do not want to see the possibility of a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine being erased by changes to the facts on the ground,\u201d McFadden told Times Radio.<\/p>\n

The United Kingdom, a longtime ally of Israel, recognized Palestinian statehood<\/a> last year in an attempt to revive dwindling efforts to achieve a two-state solution.<\/p>\n

The center-left Labour Party government has previously sanctioned some Israeli settlers and illegal outposts over violence against Palestinians and illegal development in the West Bank. Tuesday\u2019s announcement is set to expand sanctions to cover trade in goods, and possibly some services, with all West Bank settlements.<\/p>\n

U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has voiced concerns about the E1 settlement project<\/a> approved by Israel, which would effectively cut the territory in two. Palestinians and rights groups say it could destroy hopes for a future Palestinian state.<\/p>\n

A tougher line on settlements is likely to be welcomed by many Labour voters and lawmakers, who have urged the government to go further in sanctioning Israel and supporting the Palestinians. <\/p>\n

But some Labour members expressed concern that the move could boost support for Netanyahu, who is facing a tough battle for reelection<\/a> in October, or lead to attacks on British Jews.<\/p>\n

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Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the ban would be \u201ca grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the current context, it would be a gross interference in the democratic elections of a sovereign nation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Senior Israeli ministers condemned the U.K. government\u2019s impending announcement. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar warned that \u201cif Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel\u2019s hard-line public security minister, called on Netanyahu to recognize Argentina\u2019s claim to the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic known in Argentina as Islas Malvinas.<\/p>\n

The move was also criticized by the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who said that it was \u201cdiscrimination against the Jewish people.\u201d He said that the U.K. could face \u201crepercussions or retaliations\u201d from the U.S. if it imposed the sanctions.<\/p>\n

Several U.S. states have laws banning contracts or investments with businesses that boycott Israeli firms, including those based in the West Bank. U.S. Rep. Randy Fines, R-Fla., said in a post on social media that the U.K. ban could put at risk \u201cbillions of dollars\u201d in trade between British businesses and Florida.<\/p>\n

Burnham\u2019s office said that the prime minister spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday and set out \u201cthe U.K.\u2019s commitment to working toward peace and security in the region\u201d and achieving a two-state solution. There was no word on how Trump responded.<\/p>\n

Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war and which would make up the main part of a future Palestinian state.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu\u2019s government views the West Bank as the biblical and historical homeland of the Jewish people and is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state<\/p>\n

\u2014-<\/p>\n

Megan Mineiro contributed to this report from Jerusalem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONDON (AP) \u2014 Britain is set to ban goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[33],"tags":[46517,41,328,38,2673,1303,197,3987,37,199,8750,324,12760,9355,77056,81,77057,463,2445,691,2021,51,323,6905,82],"class_list":["post-283469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-andy-burnham","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-business","tag-donald-trump","tag-ed-miliband","tag-elections","tag-general-news","tag-isaac-herzog","tag-israel","tag-israel-government","tag-itamar-ben-gvir","tag-mideast-wars","tag-mike-huckabee","tag-palestinian-territories-government","tag-pat-mcfadden","tag-politics","tag-randy-fines","tag-religion","tag-sanctions-and-embargoes","tag-united-kingdom","tag-united-kingdom-government","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-government","tag-west-bank","tag-world-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117235254683389117","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}