The UK Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, has stated that Israeli "terrorists" are conducting ethnic cleansing in the West Bank with the tacit backing of the government. This declaration accompanied the announcement of sweeping sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements, made alongside France and Canada.
In what has been described as the strongest condemnation ever issued by the UK government, Mr Miliband confirmed that the official UK position is now that Israel's occupation of the West Bank is unlawful in its entirety. He said this acknowledgment was "the least the people who face such suffering deserve. And it should be the prelude to justice."
The new measures include an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in occupied territories, a comprehensive sanctions regime against providing services like construction or financing for Israeli settlements, and a ban on advertising illegal settlement properties in the UK. Additionally, personal sanctions will be imposed on key individuals accused of promoting settler violence, and a new ban will be placed on arms licences and other exports that "materially contribute to the occupation."
Mr Miliband stated that legislation to enforce the trade ban and sanctions is expected to be in place within nine months. He also noted that the UK had previously described settlements as illegal but had not described the occupation itself as unlawful, a position that will now change.
France and Canada also announced bans on settlement goods on Tuesday, joining the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain, and Norway, which have either banned goods or are in the process of doing so.