Denouncing ‘ethnic cleansing’ in West Bank, UK announces ban on all dealings with settlements
Times of Israel · LC · trust 32/100
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband on Tuesday announced a ban on all dealings with West Bank settlements, as well as sweeping sanctions and a range of other punitive measures, during a speech in the House of Commons featuring Britain’s strongest-ever criticism of the settlement enterprise and Israel’s “unlawful occupation.”
The “British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank – perpetrated by settler terrorists,” he told parliament, charging that “the Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this and, worse, members of it have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians.”
Shortly after Miliband’s speech, the leaders of the UK, France and Canada issued a joint statement confirming that they would “take steps to ban the importation of goods from settlements and enforce targeted measures against settlements and those who facilitate them or profit from them.” They wrote: “One year ago, we recognized the State of Palestine. The time has come to take further action to uphold our commitment to protect the two-state solution, our interests and to stand up for our values, before it is too late.”
Canada, France, the UK, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden also released a separate statement promising they would also “introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements,” or were at least “actively considering” doing so.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar lambasted the British sanctions, calling them “antisemitic” and “morally distorted,” and announced several countermeasures, including the closure of the UK’s consulate in Jerusalem serving Palestinians. Opposition politicians also rejected London’s decision, but cast it as a diplomatic failure by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
The decision was welcomed by the Palestinian Authority, which called it “an important practical step.”
There is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank – perpetrated by settler terrorists… The Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this and, worse, members of it have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians
“The unlawfulness of the occupation should be reflected in the economic relationships we choose to have with the occupied territories,” Miliband said, noting that the import bans and a ban on advertising settlements in the UK would form part of a new “comprehensive sanctions regime” expected to take effect within six to nine months, with what he called “appropriate religious exemptions.”
The regime would also “take action against specific companies and individuals who provide services such as construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate for settlement expansion,” he said.
Miliband stressed that the UK would continue trading with Israel inside the Green Line and opposed the broader Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
Full speech: Ed Miliband says entire occupation unlawful, alleges ‘ethnic cleansing,’ bans dealings with settlements
The British government was also taking several “immediate” steps, he said, including sanctioning a group of extremist settlers accused of supporting or inciting violence against Palestinians; expanding the UK’s existing global human-rights sanctions framework to enable swifter action against settlement expansion, including the E1 project; and refusing all license applications for arms and other exports that “materially contribute to the occupation.”
Miliband declared for the first time that the British government now considers Israel’s “occupation as a whole” as unlawful, citing Israel’s “entrenchment of its control,” alleged intention to “extend permanent sovereignty” and “expansionist agenda via illegal settlements.”
“Our argument is not with the people of Israel, with whom the UK has unshakable bonds,” the British foreign secretary said. “Our argument is with the conduct of its government.”
In their subsequent joint statement, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK called on Israel to “immediately halt the expansion of settlements and civilian administrative powers, ensure accountability for settler violence, and investigate allegations against Israeli forces.”
The countries stressed that they recognized Israel’s security interests and were determined to tackle antisemitism.
In his speech to the House of Commons, Miliband also announced sanctions on Hezbollah’s financial arm, Al-Qard al-Hassan, and said the UK would reimpose major economic sanctions on Tehran in coordination with the European Union and the US.
The United States said it would “obviously” not join the effort, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not condemn the UK’s move and did stress the need for stability in the territory roiled by settler violence and rapid Israeli settlement expansion.
“Obviously, we’re not going to do what the UK did. We saw their announcement today, but I don’t have any comment on it right now,” Rubio told reporters in Miami.
But he added that the US does not want to see “anything destabilizing going on right now in the West Bank with so much going on in the region.”
In a lengthy response to the sanctions, Sa’ar called the accusations made by Miliband “outrageous lies” and “morally distorted,” and said Jerusalem had “no choice” but to respond with countermeasures, first against the UK and then, “at our discretion, against other countries that act or will act against Israel.”
Sa’ar announced the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem, as well as the removal of UK representatives from an international Gaza support center and the termination of British activities to train Palestinian Authority forces.
The foreign minister said he was also denying entry into Israel to 12 British “elected representatives and other British nationals involved…
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