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UK to Ban Goods From Israeli Settlement09/08 06:28
Britain is set to ban goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West
Bank in response to an expansion program that is imperiling efforts to
establish a Palestinian state, the U.K. government said Tuesday.
LONDON (AP) -- Britain is set to ban goods from Israeli settlements in the
occupied West Bank in response to an expansion program that is imperiling
efforts to establish a Palestinian state, the U.K. government said Tuesday.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is due to give details in the House of Commons
later, after saying last week that he would "reset" U.K. relations with Israel.
It's a significant toughening of Britain's stance towards Israel, whose
conduct towards the Palestinians under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has
increasingly been criticized by the U.K. and other Israeli allies. Under
Netanyahu's ultranationalist government, settlement construction in the West
Bank has surged.
The international community overwhelmingly considers such construction to be
illegal and an obstacle to peace.
Before the announcement, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said that
it "isn't intended to be a boycott of all Israeli goods."
He said that the measures were "specifically targeted at the expansion of
these settlements, which are illegal under international law, in the West Bank."
"At the heart of the statement is the idea that the U.K., along with many
other countries, do not want to see the possibility of a two-state solution in
Israel and Palestine being erased by changes to the facts on the ground,"
McFadden told Times Radio.
The United Kingdom, a longtime ally of Israel, recognized Palestinian
statehood last year in an attempt to revive dwindling efforts to achieve a
two-state solution.
The center-left Labour Party government has previously sanctioned some
Israeli settlers and illegal outposts over violence against Palestinians and
illegal development in the West Bank. Tuesday's announcement is set to expand
sanctions to cover trade in goods, and possibly some services, with all West
Bank settlements.
U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has voiced concerns about the E1 settlement
project approved by Israel, which would effectively cut the territory in two.
Palestinians and rights groups say it could destroy hopes for a future
Palestinian state.
A tougher line on settlements is likely to be welcomed by many Labour voters
and lawmakers, who have urged the government to go further in sanctioning
Israel and supporting the Palestinians.
But some Labour members expressed concern that the move could boost support
for Netanyahu, who is facing a tough battle for reelection in October, or lead
to attacks on British Jews.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the ban would be "a grave
miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history.
"In the current context, it would be a gross interference in the democratic
elections of a sovereign nation," he said.
Senior Israeli ministers condemned the U.K. government's impending
announcement. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar warned that "if Britain acts against
Israel, Israel will act against Britain."
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's hard-line public security minister, called on
Netanyahu to recognize Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands, a British
overseas territory in the South Atlantic known in Argentina as Islas Malvinas.
The move was also criticized by the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike
Huckabee, who said that it was "discrimination against the Jewish people." He
said that the U.K. could face "repercussions or retaliations" from the U.S. if
it imposed the sanctions.
Several U.S. states have laws banning contracts or investments with
businesses that boycott Israeli firms, including those based in the West Bank.
U.S. Rep. Randy Fines, R-Fla., said in a post on social media that the U.K. ban
could put at risk "billions of dollars" in trade between British businesses and
Florida.
Burnham's office said that the prime minister spoke to U.S. President Donald
Trump on Monday and set out "the U.K.'s commitment to working toward peace and
security in the region" and achieving a two-state solution. There was no word
on how Trump responded.
Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war and which would make up
the main part of a future Palestinian state.
Netanyahu's government views the West Bank as the biblical and historical
homeland of the Jewish people and is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian
state.
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