The sanctions were initiated in conjunction with France and Canada. In a joint statement, the three nations declared that this action “marks a further turning point in our approach to protecting the two-state solution.”
Under international law, settlements are considered illegal, and recent months have seen an escalation in violence against Palestinians by settlers in the West Bank.
Addressing Members of Parliament, Miliband stated: “The British government acknowledges that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in parts of the West Bank, carried out by settler terrorists.”
He added that the Israeli government has all too often turned a blind eye to this violence, and that worse still, some of its members have made statements and taken actions supporting the forced displacement of Palestinians.
Miliband noted that the United Nations defines ethnic cleansing as a “purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove, by violent means, another ethnic or religious group from certain areas.”
He stated that the government’s official position is that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank is unlawful due to the “entrenchment of its control, its intention to extend permanent sovereignty, and its expansionist agenda via illegal settlements.”
He asserted that this position, which aligns with a 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice , should be reflected in the UK’s “economic relationship” with the occupied West Bank.
Consequently, he announced that over the next six to nine months, the UK would introduce “a new comprehensive sanctions regime.”
The Foreign Secretary also declared a ban on advertising illegal West Bank settlements within the United Kingdom.
Miliband added, “The sanctions regime will target illegal settlements and settlement expansion, not Israel.”
Later on Tuesday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated that the targeted measures were “aimed not at the Israeli people, but in support of the two-state solution.”
Israel’s Foreign Minister Saar announced the closure of the UK consulate—which represents the UK government in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza—at a press conference, stating: “We know that we have many friends in Britain.”
He continued, “Unfortunately, we have a hostile Labour government that is consistently operating against the State of Israel, and it has left us no choice but to respond to its hostile actions.”
He further announced that 11 UK MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott, and all five sitting Green Party MPs, would be banned from entering Israel, accusing them of “antisemitic and anti-Israel activity.”
The UK also issued a joint statement alongside 11 other nations: France, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden.
The statement affirmed that the group was unequivocally committed to the two-state solution and would either introduce national measures or support European restrictions on trading goods with West Bank settlements.