“Ethnic cleansing exists in West Bank settlements,” Britain, France and Canada announce sanctions on Israel

Britain, France and Canada have jointly labeled Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank ethnic cleansing and announced sanctions targeting settlement activity. The unusual coordinated action marks a sharp shift in Britain's policy toward Israel, according to the report.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Parliament that Britain would ban imports of goods produced by Israeli settlements in the West Bank, together with France and Canada. He said Britain also planned to prohibit advertising in the United Kingdom for illegal West Bank settlements and would introduce a “new comprehensive sanctions regime” over the next six to nine months.

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The UK government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in parts of the West Bank carried out by settler terrorists.

“The UK government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in parts of the West Bank carried out by settler terrorists,” Miliband said. He accused the Israeli government of too often tolerating the violence, and at times supporting the forced displacement of Palestinians through statements and actions by government figures. He described ethnic cleansing using the United Nations definition of a deliberate policy designed to remove one ethnic or religious group from a particular area through violent means.

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new comprehensive sanctions regime

Miliband said Britain's official view was that Israel's occupation of the West Bank was illegal because of the consolidation of control, an intention to extend permanent sovereignty and an expansionist agenda through illegal settlements. He said Britain's economic relationship with the occupied territory should reflect the International Court of Justice's 2024 advisory opinion. He also stressed that the sanctions would target illegal settlements and their expansion, not Israel itself, and said his support for the state of Israel remained “unshakeable.”

The three countries said their measures represented another turning point in efforts to protect a two-state solution. Britain joined 11 countries, including Spain, Denmark and Ireland, in reaffirming support for Palestinian statehood and backing national or European restrictions on trade with West Bank settlements. Israel responded angrily. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Miliband of spreading “absurd lies” and announced the closure of Britain's consulate in East Jerusalem, limits on some British officials' activity in the West Bank and entry bans on 12 British lawmakers and citizens whom Israel accused of antisemitic and anti-Israel activity. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the British ambassador to be expelled, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Israel should recognize Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands.

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unshakeable

The measures followed Israel's opening of tenders for about 1,200 settlement homes in the strategic E1 area east of Jerusalem. Miliband said the plan would make a two-state solution impossible by dividing the Palestinian heartland. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called Britain's move “a serious mistake, at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons,” while acknowledging that the conduct of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government had led to sanctions. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would not follow Britain's action. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee warned that the United States could respond with measures affecting British companies.

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a serious mistake, at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons