Palestinians inspect the site of a demolished house after an Israeli army raid, in the village of Aqraba near Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Sept. 8.Mohamad Torokman/Reuters
The leaders of Canada, Britain and France have announced that they will ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, signalling a new, tougher stand in their relations with Israel.
In a joint statement Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron said “systematic settlement expansion in the West Bank” poses a threat to the possibility of a two-state solution that would see the establishment of a Palestinian homeland alongside Israel.
“Settlements are illegal under international law,” the statement said. Therefore the three governments will “take steps to ban the importation of goods from settlements and enforce targeted measures against settlements and those who facilitate them or profit from them.”
The move has been backed by nearly a dozen European countries that have taken similar action or offered support for trade restrictions.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told the House of Commons on Tuesday that in addition to the import ban, Britain will sanction businesses that provide services for settlement expansion such as construction, infrastructure, financing or real estate.
“Today marks the beginning of a new approach,” Mr. Miliband said.
His comments marked a hardening of Britain’s relations with Israel since Mr. Burnham took over as Prime Minister in July from Keir Starmer. Mr. Starmer had faced mounting pressure from Labour MPs to take a more definitive position on the war in Gaza and West Bank settlements.
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Mr. Miliband, who was appointed Foreign Secretary last month, took direct aim Tuesday at Israel and spoke in deeply personal terms about how his Jewish parents sought refuge in Britain from the Nazis during the Second World War.
“I am proud of my Jewishness and unwavering in my support for the state of Israel, and there is absolutely no contradiction between this and my support for the state of Palestine,” he said.
He accused the government of Benjamin Netanyahu of the “most unimaginable trauma and suffering” in Gaza and described what’s happening in the West Bank as ethnic cleansing “perpetrated by settler terrorists.”
“All too often the Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this, and worse, members of it have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians,” Mr. Miliband told MPs.
Canada has also taken a harder line on Israel under Mr. Carney. In the past year Ottawa recognized the state of Palestine and has sanctioned several individuals and businesses involved in settler violence. Since Mr. Carney became Prime Minister in March of last year, he and Mr. Netanyahu have never spoken officially, and Mr. Carney has said he would have Mr. Netanyahu arrested if he were to set foot in Canada, in compliance with an International Criminal Court order.
In a post on social media, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Tuesday that, “for more than 70 years, successive Canadian governments have held the position that a two-state solution is the way forward for long-term peace that also addresses Israel’s legitimate security concerns. Illegal settlements in the West Bank significantly undermine these objectives.”
Mr. Miliband’s comments and the joint declaration prompted a swift backlash from Israel and the United States.
Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar, accused the British government of lying, adding: “The one-sided anti-Israel approach only pushes the possibility of reaching a solution further away.”
He said his government will respond by closing the British consulate in Jerusalem and removing British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center. And he threatened “countermeasures” against other countries “that act or will act against Israel.”
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U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called the joint statement “irrational” and said the three countries could face sanctions from Washington.
“I feel like it’s a discrimination against the Israeli government, it’s a discrimination against the Jewish people,” Mr. Huckabee told the BBC.
During a visit to the West Bank only last week, Mr. Huckabee condemned Israeli settler violence and accused the perpetrators of terrorism.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to comment directly on the announcement but told reporters: “Obviously we’re not going to do what the U.K. did.”
Tuesday’s joint statement won’t have much economic impact because trade with the settlements represents a small fraction of Israel’s overall exports. But it is an indication of the growing impatience among many Western governments with Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza and Lebanon and the corresponding surge of violence in the West Bank by extremist Jewish settlers, who have been emboldened by Israel’s territorial gains in the conflict.
Israel took control of the West Bank during the Six-Day War in 1967, and since then some 200 settlements have been built, often by forcibly relocating Palestinians.
Most Western countries consider the West Bank occupied territory and view the settlements as illegal under international law. The Israeli government refers to the West Bank as disputed territory and argues that Jews have a historic claim to the land.
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In recent months, violence by Jewish settlers has escalated, prompting widespread international condemnation. The outrage increased after the Israeli government issued tenders for the construction of 1,200 settlement homes east of Jerusalem.
Western leaders say the houses will cut across land that would be critical to the two-state proposal. However, Mr. Netanyahu has consistently rejected the notion of a Palestinian state, arguing it would threaten Israel’s security.
The three leaders’ intervention comes seven weeks before an election in Israel. Mr. Netanyahu is seeking a fresh mandate and is appealing to nationalist parties.
“This action will help the extremist candidates’ campaigns and not help those who are making the moderate arguments for a united Israel,” British Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat told the House of Commons.
Some Jewish organizations are also worried that further actions against Israel will prompt an increase in antisemitism.
Last October in Britain, two men were killed and three others injured in a terrorist attack on a synagogue in Manchester as worshippers gathered during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
“The government’s increasingly punitive and unbalanced approach towards Israel does nothing to advance peace, risks harming Jewish life in Britain, and damages the UK’s relationship with a vital ally,” said a statement from the Jewish Leadership Council. “In the run-up to the High Holy Days, placing this increased target on British Jews is deeply irresponsible.”
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs in Ottawa strongly condemned the new sanctions. “As Jewish Canadians prepare to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, including by increasing security at synagogues, the government’s announcement reinforces a troubling double standard toward Israel that not only impacts the Middle East but has real consequences here at home,” the organization said.
Mr. Miliband insisted that Britain’s quarrel is with the Israeli government, not the people of Israel. “Holding British Jews responsible for the actions of the Israeli government is antisemitism, plain and simple,” he said.