Israel has threatened retaliatory measures against the United Kingdom after British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced new sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Miliband accused some Israeli settlers of forcibly displacing Palestinians and described the actions in parts of the West Bank as “ethnic cleansing.”
Under the new measures, Britain will ban imports from settlements considered illegal under international law, restrict advertising linked to such settlements and introduce additional sanctions against companies and individuals involved in settlement activities.
Israel responded by threatening to close the British consulate, remove UK officials from a Gaza support centre and terminate British training programmes for Palestinian Authority security forces.
Israeli authorities also announced plans to bar 12 British politicians and nationals, accusing them of anti-Israel activities.
Those named include MPs Jeremy Corbyn, Zarah Sultana, Naz Shah, Diane Abbott, John McDonnell and Richard Burgon, alongside Green politicians Hannah Spencer, Carla Denyer, Sian Berry, Ellie Chowns and Adrian Ramsay. Fahad Ansari, director of Riverway to the Sea, was also included on the list.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar described the British measures as “morally distorted” and accused the UK government of engaging in “blatant” electoral interference.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Miliband said his support for Israel was compatible with his advocacy for Palestinian rights.
“I am proud of my Jewishness and unwavering in my support for the state of Israel and there is absolutely no contradiction between this and my support for Palestine. Indeed, quite the opposite,” he said.
Miliband reiterated Britain’s support for a two-state solution, saying lasting security for both Israelis and Palestinians depended on peaceful coexistence, freedom, security and self-determination.
He also expressed what he described as a “deep sense of shame” over Israel’s conduct in Gaza following the October 7 attacks and accused some settlers in the West Bank of forcibly displacing Palestinians.
“The British Government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists,” Miliband said, while accusing successive Israeli authorities of failing to adequately prevent such actions.
The British foreign secretary also announced tighter restrictions on arms and other exports to Israel, saying the UK would reject licence applications for exports that materially contribute to the occupation.
The measures have drawn criticism from both the United States and opposition politicians in Britain.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee suggested that Washington could respond to the British decision, arguing that the UK was free to make its own foreign policy choices but that the United States could also decide how to react.
Huckabee strongly criticised the Labour government’s position, accusing it of hostility towards Israel.
Meanwhile, UK Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Tugendhat accused the government of oversimplifying a complex regional conflict.
He argued that the sanctions could have unintended consequences for both Israeli and Palestinian businesses and potentially affect pharmaceutical supplies to Britain.
The British measures come amid growing tensions over Israel’s planned E1 settlement project, which would connect Jerusalem with Ma’ale Adumim in the West Bank.
Critics have warned that the project could further divide Palestinian communities and undermine the territorial continuity considered necessary for the establishment of a viable Palestinian state.
While several Labour backbench MPs welcomed the government’s tougher stance, Israel’s threatened countermeasures represent another deterioration in diplomatic relations between Britain and Israel.
