World News
UK Government reportedly drafting ban on trade with illegal West Bank settlements
The proposed trade ban follows Israel's tenders for the E1 settlement project and has drawn both domestic support and warnings of economic blowback.
The short version
- UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is expected to approve a ban on goods linked to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
- The move comes after Israel issued tenders to build over 1,200 units in the highly controversial E1 settlement corridor.
- While humanitarian groups and more than 140 Labour MPs support the measure, opponents warn it could lead to economic retaliation or act as a de facto boycott of Israel.
Key facts
- UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is expected to approve a ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements following Israel's issuance of tenders to build more than 1,200 units in the West Bank's E1 corridor.[Al Jazeera]
- On August 19, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband condemned the E1 expansion and announced that the UK would soon introduce targeted sanctions and measures to respond to illegal settlement expansion.[Al Jazeera]
- More than 140 Labour MPs, including Richard Burgon and Sarah Champion, have called for the trade ban.[Al Jazeera]
- The Labour Friends of Israel opposed the policy, arguing that broad sanctions beyond individual extremist settlers would be impossible to implement and could cause economic blowback for Israelis, Palestinians, and Britons.[Al Jazeera]
- A YouGov poll indicated that 50 percent of Britons support a trade ban on illegal settlements, while 16 percent oppose it.[Al Jazeera]
What remains uncertain
- The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office declined to officially comment on speculation regarding the specific details or timeline of the drafted sanctions.[Al Jazeera]