\n
LAST UPDATE
\n |
\n 1 hr ago\n <\/p>\n
FRANCE AND CANADA will join the UK in announcing bans on products from illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine, following Ireland and other European countries that have introduced similar measures.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The UK\u2019s foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, announced a ban this afternoon as part of what he has billed as a \u201creset\u201d in British-Israeli relations. He also said the UK would sanction companies that provide services that facilitate the development of settlements.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Israeli government has \u201cturned a blind eye\u201d to the \u201cethnic cleansing\u201d of Palestinians in the West Bank, Miliband said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Miliband confirmed that France and Canada would follow suit and introduce a similar ban when speaking in the House of Commons this afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe UK, France and Canada welcome the important action already taken by Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium and will bring forward national measures to ban trade in settlement goods,\u201d read a joint statement issued this afternoon.<\/p>\n
Israel immediately moved to order the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe accusations made today by the foreign secretary in the British Parliament were outrageous lies,\u201d Israel\u2019s foreign minister Gideon Saar said.<\/p>\n
A joint statement from foreign affairs ministers said the Israeli government \u201cmust immediately halt the expansion of settlements and civilian administrative powers, ensure accountability for settler violence, and investigate allegations against Israeli forces\u201d.<\/p>\n
It said Israel\u2019s \u201clegitimate security interests\u201d were recognised, and the ministers wished to \u201creiterate our condemnation of the Hamas 7 October terrorist attack, the worst antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are unequivocally committed to the two-state solution, in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions, that enables Israel and a sovereign, democratic and viable Palestinian state to live side by side in peace, security and mutual recognition within secure and internationally recognised borders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ahead of Miliband\u2019s announcement, there were already\u00a0threats and condemnations<\/a> from Israeli leaders and their supporters.<\/p>\n Britain, France and Canada coordinated in a similar fashion when the three countries jointly recognised the State of Palestine in September 2025<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The move to target Jewish settlements in Palestine comes as settler and Israeli military violence against Palestinians has worsened in recent years, but especially in the last few months.\u00a0<\/p>\n In signalling the British \u201creset\u201d last month, Miliband pointed to the approval of the \u201cE1\u2033 settlement, which would effectively cut the West Bank in half and lead to the \u201cdestruction of the two-state solution\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n An Israeli court today rejected a bid from rights groups to halt development of the settlement.<\/p>\n An Irish ban on trade with Israeli settlements, which applies only to goods and\u00a0not services, completed its passage through the Oireachtas in mid-July <\/a>but has not yet been signed into law.\u00a0<\/p>\n