UK imposes sanctions on Israeli settlements
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and ex-IDF chief of staff Dan Halutz have backed the UK government’s decision to ban imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, reports BritPanorama.
Their statement criticized the Israeli government’s vehement response, denouncing “Jewish terrorists” and warning of escalating violence against Palestinians that they described as “an effort at ethnic cleansing.”
On Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband confirmed a “new approach” to the UK’s relations with Israel by imposing a ban on goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Britain considers illegal. This policy shift marks a significant change in how the UK engages with Israel amid ongoing tensions.
In retaliation, Israel closed the UK consulate in East Jerusalem, while President Isaac Herzog called the sanctions a “grave miscalculation.”
The joint statement by Olmert and Halutz highlighted violence against Palestinians, including property destruction and harassment, as indicative of systemic issues that require international scrutiny. “Acts of violence against Palestinians by a large settler population in the West Bank, the burning of their property, harm to their olive groves, the theft of their livestock, which is their source of livelihood, and attempts to demolish homes and expel their residents—all these constitute an effort at ethnic cleansing in territories for which the State of Israel bears responsibility,” they asserted.
The authors condemned the failure of law enforcement to prevent such violence, stating: “The failure of the police, the army, and the security services to prevent the Jewish terror is exposed for all to see.”
Furthermore, the statement emphasized that sanctions should target “Jewish terrorists, and not against the State of Israel,” and rejected the Israeli government’s claims that such measures reflect antisemitism.
During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham defended the sanctions, asserting that “in this difficult and dangerous world, Britain has to stand for something,” urging the nation to demonstrate leadership and fairness against injustice.
The measures, which include restrictions on the importation of settlement-produced goods and financial sanctions on developers, aim to halt arms export licenses contributing to the occupation. They come amid growing international backlash against Israel’s controversial plans for further development in the E1 corridor, a move critics argue undermines the viability of a two-state solution.
Construction in E1 is poised to sever northern and southern West Bank territories from East Jerusalem, intensifying concerns over future negotiations. Under international law, all Israeli settlements in occupied territories are deemed illegal, a stance reinforced by the International Court of Justice in July 2024.
