Britain is set to impose trade sanctions on goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, in a move that has drawn strong criticism from Israel and the United States.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is expected to announce the measures in Parliament on Tuesday. Minister Pat McFadden said the steps would specifically target the expansion of Israeli settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.
McFadden said the measures were aimed at keeping alive the possibility of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. He stressed that the move would not amount to a wider boycott of Israeli products, describing Israel as an important trading partner for Britain.
The government has not provided details of the restrictions, but British ministers have previously indicated that goods produced in Israeli settlements could face trade restrictions.
The announcement comes after weeks of increased attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian communities in the West Bank, raising concerns among some Western governments that continued settlement expansion could undermine the possibility of a two-state solution.
The move has already triggered a backlash from Israel and Washington. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee described the decision as “irrational” and accused Britain of discriminating against Israel and Jewish people.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the expulsion of Britain’s ambassador to Israel, while President Isaac Herzog said the sanctions would put Britain “on the wrong side of history”.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took office in July after Keir Starmer stepped down, has previously criticised his predecessor’s approach to Israel, saying the government had been too soft on the country.
Miliband last week promised a “comprehensive” reset of Britain’s policy towards Israel. He also criticised Israel’s approval of a plan to build more than 1,200 homes in the E1 area of the West Bank, warning that the development could make the creation of a Palestinian state unviable.
Britain has already taken measures against settler violence. Last year, Starmer’s government sanctioned six entities and one individual accused of financing, enabling or carrying out violence by Israeli settlers.
The UK formally recognised a Palestinian state in September last year, marking a major shift in its longstanding foreign policy.
Trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories was worth about £38 million ($51 million) in 2025, meaning the new measures could have a largely symbolic impact. Critics have also questioned how Britain would distinguish goods produced in West Bank settlements from those made elsewhere in Israel.
More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, alongside around three million Palestinians.
At least 1,105 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the Gaza war began in October 2023, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data.
Ireland’s parliament approved legislation in July to ban imports of goods from Israeli settlements, putting further pressure on European governments over the issue.
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