DistantNews
Support us
🇦🇷 Argentina /Economy & Trade

UK to announce ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • The United Kingdom plans to ban trade in goods and some services originating from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
  • Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is expected to present the measure as part of a broader reset in relations with Israel and stronger support for Palestinian rights and a two-state solution.
  • London is particularly concerned about the proposed E1 settlement project, which the article says could divide the West Bank and make a negotiated Palestinian state unviable.

Britain is preparing to announce a ban on trade in goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, extending the measure to some services such as settlement financing and advertising. The move signals a significant reset in London’s relationship with Israel and a stronger political embrace of the Palestinian cause.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is expected to present the policy as part of what he called a “broad reset” in relations between London and Israel. He is also expected to reaffirm Britain’s support for a negotiated two-state solution, Palestinian rights and international law.

broad reset

· Ed MilibandHe described the planned policy as part of a broad reset in Britain’s relations with Israel.

The British government officially considers all Israeli civilian settlements built in territories captured during the 1967 Six-Day War illegal under international law. The announcement comes amid growing international pressure over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the expansion of Israeli settlements and rising settler violence in the West Bank.

cuts through the heart of the West Bank and risks making a Palestinian state unviable. This government will not tolerate the destruction of the two-state solution. We will act and I will present a comprehensive set of measures in the coming weeks.

· Ed MilibandHe warned that the proposed E1 settlement project threatens the viability of a future Palestinian state.

One particular concern for London is the E1 settlement project east of Jerusalem. The plan would create more than 3,400 new homes in the occupied West Bank and, according to the article, could split the territory in two. Miliband said the project “cuts through the heart of the West Bank and risks making a Palestinian state unviable.”

“This government will not tolerate the destruction of the two-state solution. We will act and I will present a comprehensive set of measures in the coming weeks,” he said. Britain is also expected to accept a 2024 International Court of Justice ruling that declared Israel’s occupation of the West Bank illegal and called on governments not to assist or cooperate with that occupation.

I want a comprehensive rethink of our approach to these issues because it is necessary, it is time.

· Ed MilibandHe called for a fundamental change in Britain’s approach to the issue.
About this summary

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog