{"id":751545,"date":"2026-08-27T15:54:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T15:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/751545\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T15:54:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T15:54:20","slug":"burnhams-expected-uk-ban-on-israeli-settlement-goods-draws-broad-support-israel-palestine-conflict-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/751545\/","title":{"rendered":"Burnham\u2019s expected UK ban on Israeli settlement goods draws broad support | Israel-Palestine conflict News"},"content":{"rendered":"

London, United Kingdom \u2013 UK Prime Minister and Labour leader Andy Burnham is expected to soon approve a ban on goods linked to Israeli settlements after the Israeli government issued tenders to build more than 1,200 units for a settlement<\/a> in the occupied West Bank called E1.<\/p>\n

\u201cSanctions on Israel\u2019s illegal settlements would be a very welcome first step in helping to bring an end to Israel\u2019s unlawful occupation,\u201d Labour lawmaker Richard Burgon told Al Jazeera on Thursday. \u201cThe International Court of Justice has been clear that all states have obligations to bring that unlawful situation to an end. These sanctions would be an important move towards meeting our moral as well as our legal obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list<\/p>\n

The E1 settlement project<\/a> would ultimately create a continuous Israeli settlement \u201ccorridor\u201d between occupied East Jerusalem and the large settlement of Ma\u2019ale Adumim, 7km (4.5 miles) east of Jerusalem. Settlements and outposts on occupied land are illegal under international law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe UK government has long-declared E1 to be a red line, and Israel\u2019s total disregard for that red line appears to be what\u2019s motivating these possible actions,\u201d Sarah Sanbar, acting Israel-Palestine researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

\"MPMP Richard Burgon is pictured with Katie Fallon of the Campaign Against Arms Trade at an event in London examining Israeli war crimes in Gaza [File: Anealla Safdar\/Al Jazeera]<\/p>\n

On August 19, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband issued a news release on behalf of the UK government condemning the expansion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Israeli Government\u2019s publication of a tender for the E1 settlement project is an unacceptable and destructive act,\u201d the release read, noting that Miliband had summoned the Israeli charge d\u2019affaires to express opposition to the settlements. \u201cIn the coming weeks we will set out a comprehensive set of measures to respond to Israeli government policies, protect the viability of the Palestinian state, target sanctions at those who participate in illegal settlement expansion and support a just and lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week, Bloomberg News reported that Burnham\u2019s government was \u201cdrafting fresh sanctions\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not comment on speculation,\u201d a spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement to Al Jazeera. \u201cThe Foreign Secretary has been clear that illegal settlements threaten the viability of a Palestinian state and undermine security for both Israelis and Palestinians.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[Human Rights Watch] welcomes any steps the UK takes towards banning trade with illegal settlements,\u201d Sanbar told Al Jazeera. \u201cWe have long been calling on the UK to do more than just condemn. It\u2019s only through concrete action by demonstrating that violations of international law are going to be met with consequences, not just words, that we can expect behaviour to actually change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel-allied groups condemn proposal<\/p>\n

Critics of a ban, most notably the Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), said sanctions could trigger economic blowback for Britons, Palestinians and Israelis or prove to be flat-out impossible.<\/p>\n

The LFI\u2019s most recent report noted that Israel\u2019s settlement expansion \u201cweakens the viability of a future Palestinian state and does nothing to enhance Israel\u2019s security\u201d.<\/p>\n

Still, the report goes on to condemn sanctions that go \u201cbeyond violent extremist settlers and organisations\u201d, noting that such measures would be \u201cimpossible\u201d to implement.<\/p>\n

For experts, it is unclear where this impossibility lies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not true, and that\u2019s not a good enough excuse for the UK to not uphold its obligations under international law,\u201d Sanbar said.<\/p>\n

The LFI report further noted that Israel\u2019s settler economy is \u201cinextricably linked\u201d to Palestine\u2019s and Israelis living within Israel\u2019s borders could be \u201cadversely\u201d affected as a ban could become a \u201cde facto boycott of Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sanbar said that theory does not add up.<\/p>\n

\u201cOpponents of a ban \u2026 often try to conflate Israel\u2019s economy with that of the settlements,\u201d Sanbar said. \u201cIf business owners move their business out of occupied territory \u2013 essentially if they stop violating international law \u2013 they can continue their business activities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from Israel, the United States has shown a willingness to retaliate against foreign governments protesting against Israel\u2019s actions. The administration of President Donald Trump recently sanctioned<\/a> several members of the International Criminal Court who have investigated war crimes in Gaza.<\/p>\n

One in two Britons support ban: Poll<\/p>\n

The concerns voiced by critics of a ban do not reflect the opinions of the British public.<\/p>\n

Recent polling from YouGov suggested that one in two Britons support a ban on trade with illegal settlements and only 16 percent of respondents oppose a ban.<\/p>\n

Advocacy organisations like the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) have also noticed a shift from the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay\u2019s local election results and polling from that time has shown that British voters have abandoned Labour in large numbers over its failure to hold Israel to account over the genocide in Gaza,\u201d a PSC spokesperson told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

More than 140 Labour MPs, Burgon included, have called for the trade ban.<\/p>\n

\u201cBurnham is right to plan sanctions on Israeli settlements and ban goods from there,\u201d Labour MP Sarah Champion of Rotherham, who also serves as chairwoman of the International Development Select Committee, said. \u201cThe occupation of the West Bank is illegal under international law, and we should not be supporting it in any way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, wrote to The Sunday Times in support of the ban and in protest against its critics.<\/p>\n

\u201cA UK ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories is long overdue,\u201d he wrote, further noting that \u201cthis is a problem of Israel\u2019s making.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year alone, Israel allotted more than $800m to expand illegal settlements after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is a settler himself, promised in 2023 to \u201cdouble\u201d the settler population.<\/p>\n

The expected UK sanctions, for human rights advocates and experts like Sanbar, mark a welcome step in protesting against Israel\u2019s increasingly brazen campaign against the Palestinians.<\/p>\n

\u201cBanning trade with illegal settlements would make war crimes less profitable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"London, United Kingdom \u2013 UK Prime Minister and Labour leader Andy Burnham is expected to soon approve a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":751546,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[591,59,57,58,590,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-751545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-europe","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-israel-palestine-conflict","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=751545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/751546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=751545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=751545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=751545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}