British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced the import ban on all goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank on Tuesday.
Eighty attacks carried out by Israeli settlers resulted in casualties or property damage between Aug. 11 and Aug. 24, according to the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights.
That adds to the escalating violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since the terror attacks led by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostage. Since then, another 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank.
Following the U.K.’s lead, Canada and France announced similar trade bans Tuesday. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden also joined those three countries in backing national or European restrictions, although their individual commitments vary.
The planned sanctions will ban the import of any goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, but will not impact any goods from Israel.
Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, says that the settler economy produces mainly produce.
A report published by Global Echo in June found that over 17% of the agricultural shipments to Europe that it analyzed contained settlement products.
And while the sanctions will not target goods from Israel, Doyle says that some products originating from settlements are instead labeled as originating from Israel.
“It's incumbent, therefore, on Israel to stop this, to bring itself in line with international law, and not export these products,” said Doyle in light of Tuesday’s sanctions.
“The lid to the container of hummus that's made in the settlement of Ariel is filled by hummus itself that was pumped out of a tube in the city of Ashkelon,” she suggests as an example.
“I’m not sure how an economic boycott of settler goods, no matter how specific or how tailored, would really achieve the policy goals that ultimately are desired here, which is the two-state solution,” she says.
“It’s up to the state of Israel to uncouple its economy from the settlement economy,” he says. “Settlements do not lie within the sovereign borders of the territory of the State of Israel.”
Why West Bank settlements are illegal under international law
In light of Article 49, and in line with its view that Israel occupies the West Bank, the U.N. deems settlements in the West Bank illegal. Miliband reaffirmed Tuesday that the U.K. observes this position on the matter, as well.
There are an estimated 620,000 Israeli settlers living across the West Bank, as well as in East Jerusalem, according to B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories.
The Israeli government has also been enabling and in some instances supporting the expansion of settlements across the West Bank. Last month, it opened bidding for more than 1,200 homes in E1, a largely undeveloped area between East Jerusalem and the existing Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim.
Critics say that construction would connect Ma’ale Adumim more closely with Jerusalem while disrupting Palestinian territorial continuity between East Jerusalem and the northern and southern West Bank—further undermining the prospects for a viable two-state solution.
“There is a line drawn here that many actors in the international community are now prepared to say, ‘We're going to back up the criticism with action,’ and that ‘Israel, you have to stop massive expansion of settlers,’” Doyle says.
“The sanctions first and foremost don't target the perpetrators of settler violence specifically,” says Sara Yael Hirschhorn, a professor of history and American Jewish studies at the University of Haifa, suggesting that only a small number of settlers actually carry out such violence.
“All it does is stir the pot in the midst of an election campaign, and strengthens the Israeli right, rather than approaching these issues with more subtlety when a new Israeli government had been elected,” she says.
How Israel and the U.S. have responded
“Sanctions are not a solution—dialogue is,” said Herzog. “Step away from the dead-end of sanctions and boycotts, and turn toward constructive dialogue and toward cooperation.”
“This must be Israel's resolute response to British audacity,” he said.
“I don’t know if they’re really aware of the implications and how it’s going to affect Brits,” he said, pointing toward legislation in 38 states that restricts government contracts or investments involving companies that boycott Israel.
“We don’t want to see anything destabilizing going on in the West Bank with so much going on in the region, we think it has implications on our ability to make progress with regards to Gaza,” Rubio continued.
Alongside the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar confirmed the removal of British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center, which coordinates relief efforts.
Among those denied entry is Labour lawmaker Richard Burgon, who has backed accusations of genocide put against Israel for its conduct in Gaza.
“The decision by the Israeli government to sanction me today will not intimidate me into silence,” said Burgon in response to the move. “I will continue to do what is right, speak out in defense of international law and stand up for justice for the Palestinian people.”
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