UK defends sanctions on Israel after being told to close consulate

Britain has defended its decision to impose new sanctions on certain Israeli products following a backlash over London being ordered to close its consulate in Jerusalem within a month.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced on Tuesday that Britain would ban imports from Israeli settlements established in the West Bank, adding that the British government’s official position was that “the occupation[of the West Bank]is unlawful.”

In response to this move, Israel accused the British government of “systematically opposing” the country, and 12 British MPs were banned from entering Israel. Britain has also been ordered to close its consulate in East Jerusalem within 30 days, according to reports.

An Israeli government spokesperson was not immediately available for comment, but Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar slammed Miliband’s claims about “ethnic cleansing” in the West Bank as “outrageous lies”.

“The message to all governments that harm us is clear: they will lose influence and relevance in the region,” he said in a statement.

On Wednesday morning, Mr Miliband told the BBC that the sanctions were being imposed out of “deep concern” that waiting any longer meant it was “too late” to support the so-called two-state solution, and that the UK government felt it needed to “speak out” about what was happening in the West Bank.

“We felt that we and our allies could not stand by and remain passive and helpless in the face of this destruction of the two-state solution,” he said, adding that Britain “could not sit idly by for fear of Israel’s reaction.”

Palestinians are being “threatened, harassed and bullied out of their homes by these settler terrorists”, he said, adding that the UK cannot remain “silent or passive”.

The West Bank is the area west of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the Gaza Strip. Israeli civilian settlements have been expanding in the West Bank for decades, with a 2025 UN report documenting 166 settlements, home to more than 700,000 Israeli settlers. The United Nations and the International Court of Justice consider the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to be occupied territory, and the United Nations has documented continued settlement expansion, settler violence, and forced displacement of Palestinians.

Britain’s new sanctions package will include sanctions against companies and individuals who facilitate the expansion of Israeli West Bank settlements, as well as an extension of an existing arms embargo to all license applications that “substantially contribute to the occupation”.

France and Canada also announced sanctions against Israeli settlements on Tuesday.

In response to Britain’s announcement, some US officials and lawmakers warned that British companies could face business restrictions in response to sanctions against Israel.

However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that the Trump administration had no comment on the US reaction to the UK decision.

“I don’t want to see anything destabilizing happening in the West Bank at a time when there’s so much going on in the region,” he said. “We think this will also have an impact on our ability to move forward on the Gaza issue and on the 20-point plan and the peace council, which we are very passionate about. Obviously we are not going to do the same thing as the UK.”

He also said the White House was “aware” of Britain’s decision in advance.

“We share the goal of stability. We do not want to see an escalation of violence, conflict and tensions in the West Bank at a time of great instability in the region.”