The foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom announced in a joint written statement that they had decided to ban trade with illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The statement said Israel's actions in the West Bank were weakening the two-state solution and that the situation was worsening by the day. It also pointed to violence by Israelis who had seized Palestinian land and stressed the need to preserve the two-state solution.
UK announces import ban and sanctions
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said in a statement to the UK Parliament that imports of goods from illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories into the United Kingdom would be banned.
Miliband argued that Israel had exercised its right to defend itself after October 7, 2023. Claiming that Iran continued to threaten Israel and Jews, Miliband said sanctions had been imposed on Iranian institutions and individuals, as well as groups influenced by Iran.
Miliband said Iran must not possess nuclear weapons and announced that they would refer violations related to Iran's nuclear program to the United Nations Security Council. Announcing new sanctions against Iran and Hezbollah, Miliband said combating these threats was a shared national security concern with Israel.
Arguing that Jews in the United Kingdom and around the world were living in fear, Miliband said the UK's support for Israel would continue and that this did not conflict with its support for a Palestinian state. Saying that the two-state solution was the only path for Palestinians and Israelis, Miliband described what had happened in Gaza as an indelible stain on the conscience of the world and the United Kingdom.
Scope of the settlements and sanctions to be imposed
Miliband said approximately 770,000 Israelis lived in illegal settlements built in the occupied Palestinian territories. He said approximately 4,000 Palestinians had been displaced in a short period as a result of attacks by the Israeli state and Israelis seeking to seize Palestinian land.
Miliband said the UK's official position was that Israel's occupation was unlawful because it sought to make control permanent, expand sovereignty and pursue an expansionist policy through illegal settlements. He said this assessment would also be reflected in economic relations.
Miliband said the UK government would ban imports of goods from illegal settlements and announced that it would also take action against certain individuals and companies providing construction, infrastructure, financing and real estate services for settlement expansion. He said those facilitating the establishment or expansion of settlements would face sanctions.
France's statement
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that France would end trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. Barrot said the decision had been taken because the situation in the West Bank had reached the brink of explosion, the seizure of Palestinian land was continuing and violence against Palestinians was increasing.
Barrot said these developments threatened the two-state solution. Calling on the Israeli authorities to end illegal settlements and the violence surrounding them, Barrot said Europe must show the same determination.
British diplomats also conveyed to the United States in private discussions that they were concerned the sanctions decision could lead to a deterioration in US-UK relations, and that it was largely symbolic and would have no tangible impact on commercial or security ties with Israel.
