Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Britain is set to ban goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, in a move the UK government says is aimed at responding to settlement expansion that is threatening efforts to establish a Palestinian state.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is due to give details in the House of Commons later on Tuesday, after saying last week that he would “reset” UK relations with Israel. Before the announcement, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said the move “isn’t intended to be a boycott of all Israeli goods”.
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McFadden said the measures were “specifically targeted at the expansion of these settlements, which are illegal under international law, in the West Bank”. He told Times Radio: “At the heart of the statement is the idea that the UK, along with many other countries, do not want to see the possibility of a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine being erased by changes to the facts on the ground.”
The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has overseen a surge in settlement construction in the West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war and which would form the main part of a future Palestinian state. Netanyahu’s government views the West Bank as the biblical and historical homeland of the Jewish people and opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.
The United Kingdom, a longtime ally of Israel, recognised Palestinian statehood last year in an attempt to revive weakening efforts towards a two-state solution. The Labour government has already sanctioned some Israeli settlers and illegal outposts over violence against Palestinians and illegal development in the West Bank. Tuesday’s announcement is expected to widen those sanctions to cover trade in goods, and possibly some services, with all West Bank settlements.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has also raised concerns 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.
A tougher approach to 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 have expressed concern that the move could boost support for Netanyahu, who faces a difficult re-election battle in October.
Senior Israeli ministers criticised the planned UK announcement. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said 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, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic known in Argentina as Islas Malvinas.
The move was also criticised by the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who said it was “discrimination against the Jewish people”. He said the UK could face “repercussions or retaliations” from the US if it imposed the sanctions. Burnham’s office said the prime minister spoke to 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, though there was no word on how Trump responded.
The planned ban marks a further hardening of the UK’s position on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, with the government saying the step is meant to protect the possibility of a two-state solution while avoiding a wider boycott of Israeli goods.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
