Britain prepares measures against settlements in the West Bank, including trade restrictions

Britain is formulating new sanctions that could prevent trade in goods and services with businesses and entities in the West Bank settlements, Bloomberg reported this evening (Friday). At the same time, Prime Minister Andy Burnham is promoting a tougher line against Israel on the issue of the West Bank, which is important to voters on the left wing of the Labour Party.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is examining several options in the coming weeks to increase pressure on Israel following its decision to promote construction in the West Bank. Among the options being examined: a new sanctions regime that would prevent the transfer of goods and services related to the West Bank settlements, said officials familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity, as the plans have not yet been announced.

Miliband is also examining an expansion of existing human rights sanctions to include the withholding of aid, which has been criticized on the grounds that it contributed to worsening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In addition, the Foreign Secretary may express explicit support for the non-binding advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice from 2024, which determined that Israeli control over territory that Britain currently recognizes as a Palestinian state is illegal.

On Wednesday, Miliband announced that he is promoting targeted sanctions against Israelis participating in the "expansion of illegal settlements" in the West Bank, with the aim of preventing the "destruction of the two-state solution."

The British Foreign Secretary has not yet made a final decision on the matter, but he is preparing for an announcement next month ahead of the UN General Assembly, where he is expected to deliver a speech in which he will detail, among other things, Britain's policy toward Israel. Miliband, a descendant of Holocaust survivors, is also expected to address the issue at the Labour Party's annual conference in Liverpool.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar rejected Miliband's remarks and called them "patronizing." According to him, the Jewish people have the right to live wherever they choose. "The British government's decision to harm the relations between our countries is very regrettable," said Sa'ar, referring to the tension between the countries.

British officials acknowledge that new measures may have a limited impact. According to them, traders can change product labels to circumvent sanctions, and Britain has held the position for years that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal. Despite this, Burnham wants to show Labour voters that he holds a more critical position toward Israel than his predecessor, Keir Starmer.

Although Starmer hardened his position toward Israel during his two years in office, including formal recognition of a Palestinian state, his decision at the beginning of his term not to demand that Benjamin Netanyahu stop the military campaign in Gaza caused controversy among the party's left wing. This contributed to a decline in Labour's standing in the polls and a rise in the power of the Green Party in the country.

Burnham, who returned to parliament and led to Starmer's departure last month, apologized for the Labour position regarding Israel's military activity in Gaza during his predecessor's time, and said that the party "did not act correctly." Last month, Britain's new Secretary of State for Defence, Wes Streeting, who ran in the last election against an independent Muslim candidate in his constituency in northeast London, said that Israel "did not meet" international standards.

A ban on trade with the West Bank settlements is a measure that was previously promoted by the British House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. Emily Thornberry, the committee chair from the Labour Party, said on Friday that Britain could take steps similar to those taken against Russian businesses operating from the Crimean Peninsula.

"We have an extreme right-wing government in Israel, which is doing everything in its power to extinguish the hope for a Palestinian state by building as many Israeli settlements as possible in that area," Thornberry told Sky News. According to her, she believes that Burnham and ministers in his government support her position, but "they must act."