Britain, France and Canada said yesterday they will ban imports of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, with London accusing Israel of turning a blind eye to what it called “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians by settler extremists. The three Western allies revealed the curbs alongside nine other countries — Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden — in a joint foreign ministers’ statement saying they planned to introduce or support restrictions on trade with settlements, which they described as illegal under international law.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told parliament the UK government agrees “there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank — perpetrated by settler terrorists,” and accused Israeli officials of supporting the forced displacement of Palestinians. He said the import ban would cover all goods from settlements and that the UK would also act against companies and individuals providing construction, infrastructure, financing or real-estate services for settlement expansion, with advertising or promoting land and property within settlements to be prohibited. The measures are expected to take six to nine months to come into force.
France cited the “frenzied expansion” of settlements and a “flare up of violence” as reasons for its action, while Canada stressed that illegal settlements “significantly undermine” the two-state solution it has long backed.
In a separate joint declaration, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned that settlements “pose a direct and urgent threat” to a two-state solution and said they would promote their efforts at the UN General Assembly later in September.
Israel responded furiously, ordering the closure of Britain’s consulate in East Jerusalem, which is accredited to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said British representatives would also be removed from a US-led Civil-Military Coordination Center for Gaza, that Britain’s training mission for Palestinian Authority security forces would be ended, and that 12 Britons — including lawmakers from the governing Labour party and figures such as Jeremy Corbyn — would be banned from entering Israel.
Saar called Miliband’s accusations “outrageous lies” and said the British move was “morally distorted” and constituted “blatant interference” in Israel’s sovereignty and upcoming elections, due in late October. He said he had coordinated the response with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The settlements mainly export agricultural products — such as dates, citrus fruits and herbs, Dead Sea cosmetics and various industrial goods, but this trade makes up only a tiny fraction of Israel’s total exports. UK trade with the occupied Palestinian Territories was around £38mn ($51mn) in 2025, according to the British government, underscoring the largely symbolic nature of the bans even as they signal a tougher diplomatic stance.
More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, among some three million Palestinians, and the International Court of Justice concluded in 2024 that Israel’s occupation was unlawful. Miliband said the UK’s official view is now that the occupation is unlawful because of Israel’s entrenchment of control and expansionist agenda via illegal settlements.
Ireland and Spain have already taken measures against trade with settlements, and France has been pushing for a similar EU-wide decision but has been blocked by some members, including Germany. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would not join the new sanctions, noting it did not want to destabilise the occupied territory.
In Britain, the moves signal a toughening stance towards Israel under Burnham, who replaced Keir Starmer as prime minister in July; Starmer’s government formally recognised a Palestinian state in 2025 and announced earlier sanctions on selected entities. Miliband also said he was immediately sanctioning additional extremist settlers, bringing the total number of people hit with UK sanctions over settler activity to 38, and announced sanctions on a Hezbollah-run financial institution and the reimposition of economic sanctions on Iran in line with the EU and US.
According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data, Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 1,105 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war.