Key facts
- UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced new measures against Israeli settlements.
- These include a ban on trade in goods and sanctions on financial services related to settlements.
- The UK government now endorses the ICJ's legal opinion that Israel's presence in occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful.
- Arms export licenses will be refused if they materially contribute to the occupation.
- The new policies aim to narrow the gap between international law and the response to the conflict.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has announced a significant shift in the UK's policy towards Israeli settlements, signaling a stronger stance against violations of international law. In a departure from decades of inaction, Miliband declared that the UK would implement a ban on trade in goods with settlements and introduce a sanctions regime targeting financial services that support settlement expansion.
Miliband described the situation in the Occupied West Bank as 'ethnic cleansing' and referred to the actions of the Israeli government as 'a stain on the conscience of the world.' He explicitly stated that Britain supports international legal processes, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the UN Commission of Inquiry, in determining whether Israel has violated international law, including accusations of genocide.
The UK government now officially endorses the ICJ's legal opinion that Israel's presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and that it must not provide aid or assistance in maintaining this situation. Furthermore, the UK will refuse all license applications for arms and other exports that materially contribute to the occupation, a policy that will remain in effect as long as the occupation persists.
These measures, which also include a ban on advertising settlement properties and holiday lettings, are expected to take six to nine months to implement to ensure they are legally robust. The move, coordinated with 11 other states including France and Canada, aims to narrow the gap between international law and the current response to the conflict, positioning the UK against the Israeli government, the Trump administration, and the Putin regime.
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