France and Canada are set to join Britain in banning imports of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has announced.
Miliband told the House of Commons on Tuesday that France and Canada would announce similar measures, widening the international response to Israel’s continued settlement expansion.
Corruption and Other Major Socioeconomic Quagmire of NigeriaThe development means Britain will not be acting alone in restricting trade linked to Israeli settlements, with Miliband pointing to a growing group of countries taking or preparing similar action.
He said France and Canada would announce their import bans on settlement goods during the day.
The two countries are expected to join the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway, which have either introduced restrictions or are in the process of doing so.
Miliband also said Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden had pledged support for further action.
Pressure grows across Europe
The announcement comes as governments across Europe remain divided over how far to go in responding to Israel’s settlement policy.
The Netherlands is due to bring a ban into effect on September 22, while Ireland has enacted legislation banning goods from West Bank settlements, although its measure does not extend to services.
Belgium has also approved a ban, while Spain introduced measures last year alongside a wider arms embargo on Israel.
France and Sweden have pushed for more coordinated European action, although EU member states remain split over whether the bloc should adopt wider sanctions.
The European Union is Israel’s largest trading partner, accounting for 31.7 per cent of Israel’s goods trade with the world last year, according to the BBC’s live parliamentary briefing.
Under existing arrangements, products originating from Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Golan Heights must already be labelled as such and do not qualify for preferential tariff treatment under trade agreements.
Britain targets settlement trade
Britain’s own measures announced by Miliband include a ban on imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, sanctions against individuals and companies involved in settlement expansion and a ban on advertising illegal settlements in the UK.
Miliband said the measures were designed to target settlements and their expansion rather than Israel as a whole.
He argued that continued settlement construction threatens the possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian state and said Britain was acting to defend the prospect of a two-state solution.
The announcement follows Israel’s decision to move ahead with plans for about 1,200 homes in the strategically important E1 area east of Jerusalem.
The development has been strongly opposed internationally because of concerns that it could divide the West Bank and isolate East Jerusalem, further undermining the prospect of a contiguous Palestinian state.
Wider diplomatic consequences
The coordinated moves by Britain, France and Canada could increase diplomatic and economic pressure on Israel over settlement expansion.
Israel has strongly criticised Britain’s decision. President Isaac Herzog called the sanctions a “grave miscalculation”, while other Israeli officials have threatened retaliation.
The United States has also warned of possible consequences for British businesses.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told the BBC that he expected a US reaction to the British measures and suggested British companies could face restrictions in some American states.
The widening number of countries considering restrictions therefore raises the possibility of a broader international campaign focused specifically on Israeli settlement goods, even as governments continue to stress that their measures are directed at settlements rather than Israel’s wider economy.
