Key facts
- The Palestinian embassy in London urged "urgent action, accountability, and an end to Israel’s unlawful occupation."
- The UK announced new measures to ban imports of goods from illegal Israeli settlements.
- The UK will target individuals and companies supporting, facilitating, or profiting from illegal settlement activity.
- The UK banned advertising or promotion of land and property in illegal settlements.
- The UK strengthened its global human rights sanctions regime to target those committing serious violations of international humanitarian law.
- The UK sanctioned several extremist settlers who supported or incited violence against Palestinian communities.
The Palestinian embassy in London has called for "urgent action, accountability, and an end to Israel’s unlawful occupation," welcoming "recent shifts in UK policy." This appeal follows the UK's announcement of sanctions on goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. In response, Israel closed the British consulate in occupied East Jerusalem.
The UK government stated it has concluded that Israel's continued occupation of Palestinian territory is "unlawful," aligning with a ruling by the International Court of Justice. New measures will ban imports of goods from illegal settlements and target individuals and companies that support, facilitate, or profit from such activity. The government will also ban advertising or promotion of land and property in illegal settlements and use its global human rights sanctions regime to target those committing serious violations of international humanitarian law and extremist settlers involved in violence against Palestinian communities.
According to the UN, 16 Palestinians have been killed by settlers in the past year, with over 1,400 incidents of settler-related violence recorded. The Israeli government has approved 104 new settlements and permitted tenders for the construction of the E1 mega settlement. Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated that the UK is taking action to defend the two-state solution and that the government will continue to act in defense of its values.
Amnesty International UK stated that while the UK government's rhetoric has shifted, "robust and effective action is urgently needed." Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty International UK's Crisis Response Manager, called for immediate, decisive action, including sanctioning Israeli officials, halting arms exports, and ending trade that contributes to the "genocide, illegal occupation and system of apartheid against Palestinians."