UK, France, Canada to Sanction Israel Over Settlements; Israel Responds

Britain, France, and Canada have decided to place sanctions on goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. This action follows ongoing attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians.

The countries made this known in a joint statement on Tuesday. Nine other countries also signed the statement. These countries are Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.

The signatories stated that Israel’s actions in the West Bank are hurting the two-state solution. They said this marks a change in how they will protect this solution.

“The situation is rapidly deteriorating amid unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion,” the statement read.

The statement also urged the Israeli government to stop the expansion of settlements. It called for accountability for settler violence and investigations into allegations against Israeli forces.

Edward Miliband, the British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, accused the Netanyahu-led government of indirectly supporting ethnic cleansing.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham mentioned he would “not stand by” while people suffer. He noted that the UK hesitates to act due to fears of being seen as “anti-Israel.”

“The suffering of the Palestinian people is a scar on the conscience of the world. Innocent Palestinians, including children, continue to be killed in Gaza. And there is still a humanitarian crisis, with far too little aid getting in,” he wrote.

One of the UK sanctions includes banning the import of goods from the occupied West Bank.

In response, Israel ordered the closure of the British consulate in occupied East Jerusalem.

On Tuesday, Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, announced retaliatory actions. These include closing the consulate and banning several British parliament members from entering.

Israel’s Sanctions

Israel has placed entry bans on British parliamentarians, which includes former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The ban only affects the British consulate in Sheikh Jarrah. This consulate deals with Palestinian issues in the occupied territories, including Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem.

The UK ambassador to Israel operates from the British embassy in Tel Aviv.

Israel also announced it would end British involvement in training Palestinian security forces in the West Bank.

Additionally, it stated that Britain will no longer take part in a US-led mission for Gaza.

The Israeli foreign minister called Britain morally distorted. He described the UK’s actions as blatant interference in the affairs of a sovereign state.

“Israel has nothing against the British people. We know that we have many friends in Britain,” he said. “A hostile Labour government is in office, systematically acting against the state of Israel, and left us with no choice but to respond to its hostile actions.”

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Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, said the ban is “a grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history.”

Herzog believes the trade ban will put Britain on the wrong side of history.

Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, who supports the settlements, said the British sanctions are discrimination against Jews. He warned that the UK might face retaliation from the US.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Washington would not join Britain, France, and Canada in blocking imports from Israeli settlements.

He added that the US does not want to see actions that would destabilize the West Bank.