UK Bans Trade With Israeli West Bank Settlements, Cites Ethnic Cleansing

<p>London: The United Kingdom government announced on Tuesday, September 8, that it is banning trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying that "settler terrorists" are carrying out ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the territory.</p>
<p>Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband confirmed that France and Canada will join the UK as part of an international coalition backing the ban. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden have pledged to "support further action," he said. The Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway have either already banned goods from settlements or are in the process of doing so.</p>
<p>The ban covers imports of all goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, as well as some services including financing, construction, infrastructure, real estate and advertising connected to the settlements.</p>
<p>Miliband said the British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, carried out by settler terrorists. He described "houses bulldozed, roads and public infrastructure destroyed, families displaced from their homes," and said he feels "a deep sense of shame about what has unfolded in Palestine under the eyes of the international community."</p>
<p>This marks a significant toughening of Britain's position toward Israel. Under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ultranationalist government, settlement construction in the West Bank has surged. The international community overwhelmingly considers such construction to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.</p>
<p>The UK, a longtime ally of Israel, recognised Palestinian statehood last year in an attempt to revive efforts toward a two-state solution. The centre-left Labour Party government had previously sanctioned some Israeli settlers and illegal outposts over violence against Palestinians and illegal development in the West Bank.</p>
<p>UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has also voiced concerns about the E1 settlement project approved by Israel, which Palestinians and rights groups say would effectively cut the West Bank in two and could destroy prospects for a future Palestinian state.</p>
<p>The move is expected to be welcomed by many Labour voters and lawmakers, who have urged the government to go further in supporting the Palestinians. However, some Labour members expressed concern that it could boost support for Netanyahu, who is facing a tough contest for re-election in October, or lead to attacks on British Jews.</p>
<p>Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the ban would be "a grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history," and called it "a gross interference in the democratic elections of a sovereign nation." Foreign Minister Gideon Saar warned that "if Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain." Hard-line public security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Netanyahu to recognise Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic.</p>
<p>The decision was also criticised by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who called it "discrimination against the Jewish people" and warned the UK could face "repercussions or retaliations" from the US. US Representative Randy Fines, a Florida Republican, said on social media that the ban could put "billions of dollars" in trade between British businesses and Florida at risk.</p>
<p>Burnham's office said the prime minister spoke with US President Donald Trump on Monday, setting out the UK's commitment to working toward peace and security in the region and to achieving a two-state solution. There was no word on how Trump responded.</p>
<p>Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war. The territory would make up the main part of a future Palestinian state under a two-state solution. Netanyahu's 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>