By Jeremy Gordon
In response to increased violence in the West Bank, the UK imposed sanctions on Israeli settlements. Ten European countries and Canada followed suit.
Israeli settlements near Bethlehem, in the West Bank. Trocaire. CC BY 2.0.
September has seen tensions rise between Israel and many of its Western allies, most prominently the UK, as settler violence in the West Bank comes under increased scrutiny. On Tuesday, Sept. 8, the UK announced a ban on all goods imported from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. This was followed by a 12-country joint statement supporting the two-state solution and announcing upcoming trade restrictions if Israel’s government does not stop the settlement expansion. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is seeking re-election this year, has responded with fury.
This latest escalation kicked off with a speech to Parliament by UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, in which he labeled Israeli settlers as “terrorists” and categorized their actions in Palestine as “ethnic cleansing.” His words hit especially hard, considering that Miliband is the son of Polish Jewish refugees who fled the Holocaust. Prime Minister Andy Burnham backed the foreign secretary’s speech in a Guardian piece, vowing he would “not stand by” as suffering continued in Palestine at the hands of Israeli settlers.
The new sanctions, along with new restrictions on arms sales to Israel, come after months of expanding settler violence in the West Bank. These escalating attacks have fully or partially displaced 130 Palestinian communities since January 2023. There have been killings, sexual violence, physical and mental abuse, property destruction, arson, theft and arbitrary detention. Human Rights Watch says settlers responsible for these attacks operate with support from the Israeli state. Reports and videos have shown the attacks occurring alongside the Israel Defense Forces or with Israeli soldiers standing by.
The increased violence has resulted in stronger and stronger condemnations by Israel’s Western allies. The UK sanctions, along with the joint statement that followed from France, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden, mark the strongest condemnation yet. Israel responded to the measures with outrage.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the accusations by Miliband “outrageous lies” and accused the UK of trying to interfere with Israeli elections. President Isaac Herzog made similar accusations, warning that the sanctions would prove “a grave miscalculation” and a “decision that will fall on the wrong side of history.” Israel announced four retaliatory measures against the UK in response, including the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem and the expulsion of British diplomats and military officers posted to a U.S.-led Gaza task force. So far, Israel has not announced any retaliation against the other countries that joined the statement.
Notably, the Trump administration has had a muted response to this escalation of tensions. The United States has long been one of Israel’s most vocal and powerful supporters. U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, attacked the new sanctions, calling them “discrimination against the Jewish people,” but the White House has not made its own condemnation, distancing itself from Huckabee’s strong words. The Trump administration did not oppose the UK-led initiative, signaling its frustration with Netanyahu’s government.
Netanyahu currently holds a low approval rating within Israel, hovering between 33% and 40%. He faces an election in late October this year, in which he will seek to maintain power for himself and his right-wing allies. This latest round of international condemnation and sanctions has come at a tough time for him. And with his government failing to curtail settler violence, the international tensions do not seem likely to abate anytime soon.
Jeremy Gordon
Jeremy is a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University studying Creative Writing. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor's in Criminology and Criminal Justice and worked for four years as an Investigative Specialist with the Public Defender Service for DC.