UK bans goods from Israeli West Bank settlement, accuses settlers of 'ethnic cleansing'

The United Kingdom has announced a ban on the import of all goods produced by illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

This is the country’s most significant policy since London’s historic recognition of Palestinian statehood last year.

In a speech to Parliament, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accused Israel of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” in Palestine and affirmed that it is official UK policy that the Israeli settlements rapidly expanding across the occupied West Bank are “unlawful”, Al Jazeera reports.

In a joint statement Canada and France announced similar bans on goods from Israeli settlements, with France also pushing for a European Union-wide ban.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a ban on imports of goods produced in Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Tuesday, calling Israeli settlers "terrorists" and accusing them of carrying out "ethnic cleansing" against Palestinians, in a strong escalation of British rhetoric.

The measures are intended to put pressure on Israel over settlement expansion.

"Successive Canadian governments have held the position that a two-state solution is the way forward for long-term peace that also addresses Israel's ​legitimate security concerns. Illegal settlements in the West Bank significantly undermine these objectives," Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand wrote on X.

A Reuters report published on Tuesday found Israel's government is ​financing some of the West Bank's most radical settlers, who use illegal outpost farms to displace Palestinians.

Ahead of the announcement, US Ambassador to Israel Mike ⁠Huckabee criticised the planned British sanctions, while two Israeli ministers called for retaliatory measures against London.

Given the small volume of exports from the settlements, the trade bans are largely symbolic, and will not dent larger bilateral trade flows, but are ​part of wider efforts to reinforce support for the two-state solution, just as Israel announced plans for 1,000 new West Bank homes on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

Britain, France and Canada were joined by the foreign ministers of 10 other countries, including Denmark, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden, in a statement reaffirming support for a negotiated two-state settlement.

"Together, we are resolute: the two-state solution must be protected, and we will take action in pursuit of a just and lasting peace," ​they said.

Miliband, who became Britain's foreign minister in July, went further, saying the UK believes that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank.

"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 idea, which Israel opposes.