United Kingdom Foreign Minister Ed Miliband has announced sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Britain will introduce an import ban on goods from Israeli settlements, Miliband told parliament on Tuesday. He said that there will also be a comprehensive sanctions regime put in place, adding that Britain could no longer simply “call out” injustice and suffering, but told the House of Commons that the country now had to “act” to oppose the expansion of settlements. “Today we refuse to be bystanders to further suffering and to the destruction of the two-state solution,” Miliband said, referring to Britain’s long-held support for the two-state idea, which Israel opposes. The United States, through its ambassador to Israel, has already criticised Britain’s plan to impose sanctions, while two Israeli ministers called for measures to be taken against Britain.
Miliband, who became Britain’s foreign minister in July, also said Britain’s position is that the occupation in the West Bank is unlawful, and that London believes that there is “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank. The impact on the £6 billion ($8.12bn) of annual bilateral trade between the UK and Israel is likely to be minimal, with details unclear of how the UK will differentiate between goods originating in West Bank settlements and products made in Israel.
