London, United Kingdom – UK Prime Minister and Labour leader Andy Burnham is expected to soon approve a ban on goods linked to Israeli settlements after the Israeli government issued tenders to build more than 1,200 units for a settlement in the occupied West Bank called E1. These sanctions would be an important move towards meeting our moral as well as our legal obligations.” The E1 settlement project would ultimately create a continuous Israeli settlement “corridor” between occupied East Jerusalem and the large settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, 7km (4.5 miles) east of Jerusalem. Settlements and outposts on occupied land are illegal under international law.
On August 19, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband issued a news release on behalf of the UK government condemning the expansion. It’s only through concrete action by demonstrating that violations of international law are going to be met with consequences, not just words, that we can expect behaviour to actually change.” Critics of a ban, most notably the Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), said sanctions could trigger economic blowback for Britons, Palestinians and Israelis or prove to be flat-out impossible. The LFI’s most recent report noted that Israel’s settlement expansion “weakens the viability of a future Palestinian state and does nothing to enhance Israel’s security”.
Still, the report goes on to condemn sanctions that go “beyond violent extremist settlers and organisations”, noting that such measures would be “impossible” to implement. For experts, it is unclear where this impossibility lies. The LFI report further noted that Israel’s settler economy is “inextricably linked” to Palestine’s and Israelis living within Israel’s borders could be “adversely” affected as a ban could become a “de facto boycott of Israel”.
Sanbar said that theory does not add up. The administration of President Donald Trump recently sanctioned several members of the International Criminal Court who have investigated war crimes in Gaza. The concerns voiced by critics of a ban do not reflect the opinions of the British public.
Recent polling from YouGov suggested that one in two Britons support a ban on trade with illegal settlements and only 16 percent of respondents oppose a ban. Advocacy organisations like the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) have also noticed a shift from the public. More than 140 Labour MPs, Burgon included, have called for the trade ban.
The expected UK sanctions, for human rights advocates and experts like Sanbar, mark a welcome step in protesting against Israel’s increasingly brazen campaign against the Pa
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