The UK government intends to announce trade restrictions on goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, September 8. The decision follows weeks of rising attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian villages, which some Western governments say threatens the prospect of a two‑state solution.
Reaction to trade restrictions
Government minister Pat McFadden said Foreign Secretary David Lammy will address Parliament on measures against settlement expansion, which is illegal under international law. According to McFadden, these steps aim to preserve the possibility of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. He stressed that this is not a boycott of all Israeli goods, as Israel remains an important trading partner for the UK.
British officials previously indicated that products made in illegal settlements could fall under the new restrictions. Their impact is likely to be largely symbolic: trade between the UK and the occupied Palestinian territories in 2025 amounted to only about £38 million ($51 million). Critics also point out that, in practice, distinguishing goods from the West Bank and those from the rest of Israel could be difficult.
Sharp reaction from Israel and the US
The London decision provoked a sharp reaction from allies. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called it «irrational», saying he views the measures as «discrimination against the Israeli government and the Jewish people». Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads a far‑right party and advocates annexing the entire West Bank, demanded the expulsion of the British ambassador. President Isaac Herzog warned that the sanctions will «end up on the wrong side of history».
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep building illegal settlements despite mounting international pressure and announced a large‑scale relocation of settlers to the occupied Palestinian territory. At the same time, recent settler violence has drawn rare condemnation even from Netanyahu and unusually sharp criticism from Huckabee.
Shift in London’s policy
New Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took office in July after Keir Starmer resigned, previously said his predecessor was too soft on Israel. Lammy himself promised a «comprehensive» reset of British policy toward Israel last week. He also described the E1 development plan—over 1,200 homes—as a «crossing of a red line», because it cuts through the central West Bank and, he warned, could make a Palestinian state impossible.
The Starmer government had already sanctioned six organisations and one individual involved in funding, facilitating, or carrying out settler violence. In September 2025, the UK formally recognised the Palestinian state, marking a historic shift in long‑standing British policy.
More than 500,000 Israelis now live in West Bank settlements deemed illegal under international law, alongside roughly 3 million Palestinians. According to AFP, based on figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 1,105 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the war in the Gaza Strip began.
In July, the Irish parliament also passed legislation banning imports of goods from Israeli settlements.
Source: Channel NewsAsia
