UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a new sanctions regime targeting illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, calling them a form of ethnic cleansing.
Jointly with France and Canada, the UK aims to curb companies and individuals that help expand settlements, especially in the strategically important eastern Jerusalem area known as E1.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar reacted by branding the move an “outrageous lie” and shutting the UK consulate in East Jerusalem. He also threatened to ban 11 UK MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn and the Green Party, from entering Israel.
The sanctions come after a wave of violent settler attacks on Palestinian families in the West Bank and a renewed push for a two‑state solution amid the Gaza war.
While Israel rejects a two‑state solution outright, the UK stresses that its economic ties should reflect the international law stance that the settlements are illegal and the occupation unlawful. The new restrictions also include a ban on advertising illegal settlements in the UK and sanctions on Hezbollah’s financial wing.
