UK imposes import restrictions on goods from Israeli settlements

Author, News Department

Place of work, BBC Russian Service

Published a minute ago

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The UK government on Tuesday introduced new restrictions on the purchase of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, speaking in the House of Commons, confirmed that the UK will ban the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the illegally occupied West Bank.

Last week Miliband said he would unveil a plan for a “comprehensive reset” of the British government's policy towards Israel.

The Government's decision will not amount to a "boycott of business with Israel", Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has said. McFadden described Britain's relationship with Israel as "important" from both an economic and security perspective.

According to him, the new measures will be a response to the ongoing expansion of settlements. “If they continue to expand, then the possibility of realizing a two-state solution will become even more difficult to achieve,” the minister said.

The Israeli government had previously warned that it would retaliate if any new restrictions were introduced. “If the UK takes action against the state of Israel, the state of Israel will take action against the UK,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on an Israeli podcast last week when asked about the consequences of the UK ban on trade in goods from the settlements.

The US is also likely to oppose these proposals. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told the BBC he believed there would be a US response "without a doubt". Huckabee said "such actions against a partner like Israel" could have "huge economic consequences for UK companies", adding that they could be "banned" from doing business "in a number of states" in the US.

Florida Congressman Randy Fine has already warned the UK that sanctions could cost British companies "billions of dollars".

In his X post, he recalled that Florida is "one of the UK's largest trading partners" and noted that Florida law would "prohibit any UK company forced to comply [with sanctions] from doing business with any state or local government in Florida."

Israeli reaction

Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog called the British government's plan a "serious miscalculation." Speaking in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Herzog said the decision "would be on the wrong side of history," adding: "Under current conditions, it would be a gross interference in the democratic elections of a sovereign state."

Herzog noted that the move would directly harm the Palestinians and called on other governments to move toward “constructive dialogue” and cooperation. “Sanctions are not the solution,” he said.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly recognize the Falkland Islands as occupied Argentine territory, saying the British forcibly seized the islands. Ben-Gvir also called on Netanyahu to impose sanctions against Britain.

The day before, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the expulsion of the British ambassador. “We will not be a rug for the anti-Semitic government to trample on,” he wrote on the social network X.

New settlements

The current Israeli government is promoting the establishment of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, having approved the construction of more than 100 new settlements, including hilltop outposts, built without Israeli development permits or government sanction.

In August, Israel issued tenders to build about 1,200 settlement houses in the strategically important part of the occupied West Bank.

Plans for the development of the so-called E1 area east of Jerusalem are not accepted by the international community, since settlements are illegal from the point of view of international law.

Israel has shelved plans to develop the area for decades, but a year ago the current Israeli government gave the green light to construction in the E1 area in what is believed to be a bid to finally bury the idea of ​​a Palestinian state.

The tender announced by the Ministry of Housing covers an area of ​​approximately 12 square meters. km between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim. The settlement would effectively split the West Bank in two and isolate East Jerusalem.

Last year, Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the plan would "finally bury the idea of ​​a Palestinian state."

Ahead of national elections due in October, settlement observers say Israel's fiercely pro-settler government is seeking to quickly expand Israeli control over the West Bank.

As settlements and outposts expanded, settler violence increased sharply. The number of casualties from settler attacks on Palestinians has risen to an average of three people a day this year, according to the UN.

What is produced in the settlements

Agricultural products exported from Israeli settlements include dates, mangoes, avocados, grapes and fresh herbs. Kosher wines, olive oil and some consumer goods are also exported.

The ban is expected to affect mainly goods rather than services, since it is much more difficult to restrict services.

UK law already requires goods from settlements to be labeled to avoid misleading consumers and because these goods are not subject to special tariff treatment under the UK-Israel trade agreements.

Local settler farmers say they are increasingly selling their produce to countries outside Europe, including India, China, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, so the UK export ban is of little concern to them.

Palestinian date farmers say they supported Britain's ban because settlers have recently resorted to more violence to seize more land and cut off their access to water supplies.

Who else restricts the export of goods from settlements?

The European Union does not have a unified policy on the issue of banning the import of Israeli goods from settlements in the West Bank, but more and more countries are introducing their own measures.

The ban, introduced by the Dutch government, comes into force on September 22. In Ireland, a law was signed in the summer banning the import of goods from settlements in the West Bank. The law did not affect services.

The Belgian government also approved the ban. Spain did a similar thing last year, but went further by imposing a complete arms embargo on Israel.

France and Sweden have called for more coordinated EU action, and the initiative is gaining increasing support among member states.

European trade policy towards Israel is of great importance because the EU is Israel's largest trading partner, accounting for nearly a third of Israel's total foreign trade last year.

Currently, any food produced in settlements in the West Bank and Golan Heights must be labeled as such in Europe.

Some EU members, notably Germany and the Czech Republic, oppose a broader ban, and EU governments failed to reach an agreement in July to impose sanctions on Israeli settlements.

EU countries also cannot decide whether to consider this a trade issue, which only requires a supermajority of countries, or a foreign policy issue, which requires a unanimous decision.

Symbolic gesture

As BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams notes, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is set to go further than any of his predecessors on Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which successive British governments have called illegal under international law and an obstacle to peace.

He is trying to strengthen his support, especially among representatives of the far right, and this will give him additional trump cards, says Paul Adams. The idea that Israel is threatened by external forces is exactly what he can use to rally support.

The British government has undoubtedly taken this possibility into account, says the BBC's diplomatic correspondent. Moreover, it is doubtful that a change of government in Israel will lead to a significant change in policy towards the West Bank - all the main contenders consider Israeli settlements to be a matter of national importance.

There may be differences in the nuances and pace of settlement construction, but it is unlikely that any will agree with the idea that allies should ban Israeli goods produced in these settlements.