Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The UK government has said it will ban trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying that “settler terrorists” are carrying out ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the UK would ban imports of all goods from the settlements, along with some services linked to them, and added that France and Canada would also ban trade in goods from the settlements.
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The move marks a significant hardening of Britain’s position towards Israel, a longtime ally, amid growing criticism from the UK and other allies over the treatment of Palestinians under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Miliband also said Britain was tightening its embargo on weapons sales to Israel for use in Gaza to include arms “that materially contribute to the occupation” of Palestinian territories. He said the trade ban would come into force in six to nine months.
Miliband said the restrictions would cover services including financing, construction, infrastructure, real estate and advertising for settlements. He said Canada and France would announce bans on goods from Israeli settlements, while Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden had pledged to “support further action”.
The tougher stance comes as settlement construction in the West Bank, which Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war, has surged under Netanyahu’s ultranationalist government. The international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements illegal and an obstacle to peace. Netanyahu’s government, however, views the West Bank as the biblical and historical homeland of the Jewish people and opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.
“The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists,” Miliband said. He said there had been “houses bulldozed, roads and public infrastructure destroyed, families displaced from their homes”. He also said he feels “a deep sense of shame about what has unfolded in Palestine under the eyes of the international community” and added, “We will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution.”
Miliband said the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway had either banned goods from settlements or were in the process of doing so. The United Kingdom recognised Palestinian statehood last year in what it said was an attempt to revive weakening efforts to achieve a two-state solution.
The centre-left Labour government has previously sanctioned some Israeli settlers and illegal outposts over violence against Palestinians and illegal development in the West Bank. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has also voiced concern about the E1 settlement project approved by Israel, which would effectively cut the territory in two. Palestinians and rights groups say the project could destroy hopes for a future Palestinian state.
Within Britain, a tougher line on settlements is likely to be welcomed by many Labour voters and lawmakers who have urged the government to go further in sanctioning Israel and supporting the Palestinians. But some Labour members have expressed concern that the move could boost support for Netanyahu, who is facing a tough re-election battle in October, or lead to attacks on British Jews.
Israel strongly criticised the move. President Isaac Herzog said the ban would be “a grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history”. He added, “In the current context, it would be a gross interference in the democratic elections of a sovereign nation.” Even before the formal announcement, senior Israeli ministers had condemned the UK’s position. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar warned that “if Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain.” Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s hard-line public security minister, called on Netanyahu to recognise Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as Islas Malvinas.
The move was also criticised by US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who said it was “discrimination against the Jewish people” and warned that the UK could face “repercussions or retaliations” from the US if it imposed the sanctions. Several US states have laws banning contracts or investments with businesses that boycott Israeli firms, including those based in the West Bank. US Representative Randy Fines, a Florida Republican, said on social media that the UK ban could put at risk “billions of dollars” in trade between British businesses and Florida.
Burnham’s office said the prime minister spoke with US President Donald Trump on Monday and set out “the UK’s commitment to working toward peace and security in the region” and achieving a two-state solution. There was no word on how Trump responded. Overall, the UK’s announcement combines a ban on settlement trade, tighter arms restrictions and wider diplomatic pressure as Britain raises its criticism of Israeli settlement policy in the West Bank.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
