The United Kingdom, France, and Canada recently announced their plans to place sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband explained that these sanctions were placed to condemn Israel’s actions. He said settler extremists have committed ethnic cleansing against Palestinians in the West Bank, and that the Israeli government has ignored the situation, and even went as far as to supporting the displacement of Palestinians. The United Kingdom, France, and Canada agreed that it was time to take more direct action against Israel.
These sanctions would ban the importation of goods from the illegal settlements in the West Bank, and impose measures against the settlements and those who profit from them. A joint letter from nine other Western nations accompanied the United Kingdom, France, and Canada’s sanction announcement. In the letter, the participating nations pledged to create similar restrictions against the importing of goods from illegal settlements in the West Bank or work in support of the three countries’ sanctions. British sanctions implementation usually takes at least a year, but the process will be shortened to six to nine months since the situation is urgent.
Gideon Sa’ar, the Israeli Foreign Minister, called the sanctions “an absurd political decision” and “a morally corrupt move.” He also claimed that the British government was trying to interfere with Israel’s upcoming elections by announcing these sanctions. Sa’ar also said that Israel would retaliate by closing the United Kingdom’s consulate in Jerusalem, banning British representatives from the Civil-Military Coordination Center, terminating the British Support Team, which provides support to Palestinian Authority Security Forces, and denying 11 British lawmakers entry into Israel and the West Bank. So far, the United States, Israel’s closest ally, has refused to comment. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters only that the U.S. will not follow the lead of the United Kingdom, France, and Canada by imposing sanctions on Israel.
