London: The UK on Tuesday announced it was levying sanctions on illegal settlements in the occupied West bank, saying that the occupation military and government were turning a blind eye to the "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians. The decision comes after a long debate inside the UK in both public and political circles, almost three years since the genocide in Gaza began in earnest,
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said it marked the "beginning of a new approach" to the conflict in Palestine conflict, which "not only calls out injustice and suffering but acts." The sanctions will ban settlement goods but also act against companies and individuals providing s
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar responded by accusing him of spreading an "outrageous lie" and announced counter-measures including shutting the UK's consulate in East Jerusalem.
The sanctions will ban settlement goods but also act against companies and individuals providing services providing them services. Prime Minister (PM) Andy Burnham, who replaced Sir Keir Starmer in June of this year, had previously said that he would review British policy on Palestine and that his party had "got it wrong" on Gaza, promising to do more against an occupations that has become increasingly unpopular in the last three years.
The sanctions were launched alongside France and Canada, which in a joint statement with the UK said the action "marks a further turning point in our approach to protecting the two state solution".
Settlements are illegal under international law, and there has been a rise in violence towards Palestinians in the West Bank by settlers in recent months. In a statement to MPs, Miliband said: "The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists."
