UK bans imports from West Bank settlements in major policy reset

LONDON — British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has announced a ban on imports of goods produced in Jewish settlements in the Israeli occupied West Bank, in what the U.K. government calls a "reset" of its relations with Israel.

The measures are intended to put pressure on Israel over settlement expansion, which the U.K. says is undermining prospects for a two-state solution.

In a joint statement Canada and France announced similar bans on goods from Israeli settlements, with France also pushing for an EU-wide ban.

They added their names to Ireland, Spain, Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands who have already taken steps to restrict trade in settlement goods, or are in the process of doing so.

Speaking in the House of Commons Miliband said, "Our argument is not with the people of Israel, with whom the U.K. has unshakeable bonds, our argument is with the conduct of its government."

"The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists," Miliband told MP's. He said there had been "houses bulldozed, roads and public infrastructure destroyed, families displaced from their homes."

The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, warned of possible repercussions for British businesses in the U.S., while describing the U.K.'s move as "irrational."

"I don't understand what it's supposed to achieve," Huckabee told the BBC's Today programme. "If the U.K. is really interested in dealing with issues they feel like are wrong, where are the sanctions against North Korea, China, Russia?"

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke to President Trump on Monday ahead of today's statement. In a readout of the wide-ranging call, Downing Street said Burnham stressed the UK's commitment to peace and security in the region, as well as the importance of a two-state solution.

The measures announced today are understood to be limited but symbolically significant, and will not come into force immediately. The government is expected to target goods originating specifically from settlements, rather than imposing a wider ban on Israeli products.

Opponents warn that, if not tightly defined, the sanctions could evolve into broader restrictions on Israeli goods, services and companies.

The move marks a significant deterioration in U.K.-Israel relations and is likely to increase pressure on the government over how far it is prepared to go.

Israel has warned it will respond. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar has threatened consequences, while far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for the British ambassador to Israel to be expelled.

Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has also called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "close the British consulate in East Jerusalem", accusing it of operating "openly on behalf of the Palestinian Authority" and calling for a "resolute response" to what he described as British "audacity."