The United Kingdom announced Tuesday a significant policy shift, imposing sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The measures include banning imports of goods from these settlements and targeting entities facilitating their expansion. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband stated that the official view of the British government is that the occupation is unlawful.
In response to the UK sanctions, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that Israel would close the British Consulate in Jerusalem and implement a series of countermeasures. These include removing British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center, ending British activities training Palestinian Authority forces, and denying entry to 12 British elected officials and other nationals accused of antisemitic or anti-Israel activity.
Sa’ar asserted that measures against Israel would not go unanswered, stating, "Whoever acts against Israel, Israel will act against them, and they will lose their influence and relevance in the region." He also accused London of interfering in Israel's upcoming election campaign, a claim rejected by the British government. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the move a "grave miscalculation" and "gross interference" in the upcoming election.
The UK's move, announced by Miliband in Parliament, is part of a coordinated effort with France, Canada, and other European partners, citing "unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion." The measures come weeks before the UN General Assembly and less than two months before Israel's October 27 election.
Miliband emphasized that the sanctions regime targets illegal settlements and their expansion, not Israel itself. He reiterated Britain's opposition to the broader Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement and affirmed Israel's right to defend itself against terrorism. Britain also announced sanctions against Hezbollah financing institution Al-Qard Al-Hassan and reimposed major economic sanctions on Iran.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee warned of potential economic consequences for Britain. Speaking to BBC World Service Newsday, Huckabee suggested that British companies could face restrictions on doing business in U.S. states with anti-boycott laws, such as Florida. "I think without a doubt there will be," Huckabee said when asked if the UK should expect consequences, predicting a "huge economic impact on British businesses."
Huckabee also questioned the policy on substantive grounds, arguing that Israel is permitted under the Oslo agreements to build communities in Area C and predicting the sanctions would have "a very negative effect."
Within Britain, the policy has also faced scrutiny. Conservative lawmaker Tom Tugendhat acknowledged that illegal settlements and settler abuses were wrong but argued that the government's response risked harming ordinary Israelis and Palestinians was "performative politics."