The UK government has issued its strongest condemnation of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, labeling them unlawful in full and accusing settlers of ethnic cleansing with government support. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced sweeping new measures, including trade bans on settlement goods, restrictions on financial and construction services, and a prohibition on advertising illegal properties in the UK. Personal sanctions will also target individuals linked to settler violence, while new export controls will block arms and other goods that aid the occupation. The move marks a historic shift in British policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In strongest condemnation ever by UK government, Ed Miliband announces sweeping sanctions on trade with Israeli settlementsUK politics live – latest updatesIsraeli “terrorists” are conducting ethnic cleansing in the West Bank with the tacit backing of the government, the UK foreign secretary, Ed Miliband has said, as he announced sweeping sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements.In the strongest condemnation ever issued by the UK government, Miliband said the government would now take the official position that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank was unlawful in its entirety, saying such acknowledgment was “the least the people who face such suffering deserve. And it should be the prelude to justice.”An import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories.A comprehensive sanctions regime against providing services such as construction or financing for Israeli settlements.A ban on the advertising in the UK of illegal settlement properties.Personal sanctions against key individuals accused of promoting settler violence.A new ban for arms licences and other exports that “materially contribute to the occupation”. Continue reading...
