The U.K. government is proceeding with comprehensive sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, despite warnings from U.S. officials that the measures will carry economic consequences for British businesses.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced that Britain would ban imports from Israeli settlements built on land internationally recognized as Palestinian territory. The sanctions are expected to take six to nine months to come into force.
"Today I announce that the official view of the British government is that the occupation [of the West Bank] is unlawful," Miliband told lawmakers. "The government believes the unlawfulness of the occupation should be reflected in the economic relationships we choose to have with the occupied territories."
Miliband said the British government had concluded that ethnic cleansing of Palestinians was taking place in areas of the West Bank, "perpetrated by settler terrorists," and accused the Israeli government of turning a blind eye or, in some cases, actively supporting displacement.
Under the new regime, Britain will target specific companies and individuals that provide construction, infrastructure, or financing services for settler real estate expansion. The U.K. will also ban advertisements related to the settlements. Miliband stressed that Britain would continue trading with Israel itself, "precisely because we support the two-state solution, including security and prosperity for Israel."
The government also expanded its arms export restrictions. The U.K. will refuse all license applications for arms and other goods and services "that materially contribute to the occupation," a measure Miliband called a "double lock against arms sales." The move follows last week's suspension of over 30 arms licenses used by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza.
Shortly after the announcement, Israel closed the British consulate in Jerusalem. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused the British government of "systematically working against the state of Israel," and twelve U.K. politicians were barred from entering Israel.
U.S. officials moved quickly to warn against the policy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday, "Obviously we're not going to do what the UK did," adding that the sanctions could undermine progress on Gaza, the 20-point plan, and the Board of Peace. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told the BBC that Washington would respond and that the move could have a "huge economic impact on British businesses," potentially barring them from doing business in a number of U.S. states.
In Florida, Representative Randy Fine invoked the state's Prohibition Against Contracting with Scrutinized Companies law, warning that British firms forced to comply with the sanctions could be banned from contracting with any state or local government entity. Florida is one of Britain's largest trading partners. Texas, New Jersey, and Alabama also have anti-BDS rules in place. In 2019, Airbnb was placed on Florida's scrutinized list after removing around 200 West Bank listings, then reversed its policy and was removed.
The Trump administration has previously pushed back against European action on Israel. Last year, the State Department called it "very troubled" that the $2 trillion Norwegian wealth fund exited Caterpillar and five Israeli banks over rights-violation concerns linked to the conflict, calling the move "based on illegitimate claims against Caterpillar and the Israeli government." Over the summer, the U.S. embassy in Ireland warned that Ireland's new settlement import ban "risks real unintended consequences" for nearly 1,000 American companies operating there, urging Ireland not to pursue similar measures at the EU level.
Miliband had previously called Israel's recent issuance of tenders for the E1 settlement in the West Bank "the crossing of a red line," telling lawmakers last week: "Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. This Government will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution — we will act."
