UK Accuses Israeli Settlers of Ethnic Cleansing, Imposes Sweeping Sanctions

U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accused Israeli settler terrorists on Tuesday of carrying out the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in parts of the occupied West Bank as Britain announced sweeping sanctions against settlements and those supporting their expansion.

The measures include a ban on goods from illegal settlements, sanctions against companies and individuals providing financial and commercial support, and tighter restrictions on exports that materially contribute to the occupation.

“The British Government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists,” Miliband told the House of Commons.

He said the Israeli government had too often failed to intervene and accused members of it of supporting actions that contributed to the forced displacement of Palestinians.

Britain Hardens Its Position

Miliband said the government now regarded the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory as unlawful, marking a significant shift in Britain’s stated position.

He argued that settlement expansion and violence in the West Bank were eroding the possibility of a two-state settlement.

The proposed E1 settlement project was singled out as a breach of what Miliband described as a longstanding red line because of its implications for the territorial viability of a future Palestinian state.

“Settler terrorism is rampant,” Miliband said before setting out the government’s assessment of ethnic cleansing.

He cited the UN definition of ethnic cleansing as the deliberate removal of one population from a geographic area through violent or terror-inducing means.

Sanctions Target Settlement Economy

Britain will prohibit imports from illegal settlements in the occupied territories, with Miliband saying the government did not want U.K. consumers effectively supporting the occupation through goods sold in shops and supermarkets.

A wider sanctions regime will target companies and individuals involved in financing, construction, infrastructure, real estate and other services linked to settlement expansion.

“To those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this: you will face the full force of U.K. sanctions,” Miliband said.

The trade restrictions are expected to be introduced within six to nine months.

The government will also reject license applications for arms and other exports that materially contribute to the occupation.

Miliband described the policy as a “double lock” that would keep such restrictions in force for as long as the occupation persisted.

Sanctions Distinguish Settlements from Israel

Miliband stressed that the measures were directed at settlements rather than Israel as a whole.

“The sanctions will target illegal settlements and settlement expansion, not Israel,” he said.

Britain would continue trade with Israel inside the Green Line, he added, while rejecting the wider Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign.

Miliband sought to separate the government’s criticism of Israeli policy from its position toward Israeli citizens and British Jews.

He said Britain’s dispute was with the conduct of the Israeli government, not the Israeli population, while warning that holding British Jews responsible for Israeli government actions amounted to antisemitism.

Twelve Countries Move on Settlement Trade

Britain’s announcement forms part of a wider initiative involving Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

The 12 countries said they intended either to introduce national restrictions, support European measures against trade with illegal settlements or actively consider such steps under their domestic procedures.

France and Canada announced measures alongside Britain, while Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium had already taken steps or were progressing toward restrictions.

The governments cited accelerating settlement activity and what they described as unprecedented levels of settler violence.

They also called the E1 project “inadmissible” and demanded that Israel halt settlement expansion, hold violent settlers accountable and investigate allegations involving Israeli forces.

The countries said they “firmly oppose any action resulting in the annexation of Palestinian lands or forced displacement.”

EU-Wide Action Blocked

Efforts to impose an EU-wide trade ban have failed to secure the necessary support.

Germany, Italy, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Austria opposed such a measure.

Germany cited its special relationship with Israel, while Italy characterized the proposal as a political choice requiring unanimity.

France said the absence of EU-wide agreement meant individual governments could no longer wait for collective action.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Paris would begin ending trade with Israeli settlements, warning that the West Bank was nearing a breaking point amid settlement expansion and rising violence against Palestinians.

U.S. and Israeli Opposition

The measures have already drawn opposition from Washington and Israeli officials.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee described the policy as irrational and discriminatory and warned that Washington would respond.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the British ambassador to be expelled, while President Isaac Herzog accused Britain of interfering in Israeli elections.

Conservative opposition lawmakers in Britain also challenged Miliband’s approach.

Shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat said the sanctions could deepen sectarian divisions and antisemitism in Britain and argued that the government risked strengthening extremist political forces in Israel ahead of elections.

Miliband rejected the criticism, saying the alternative was to watch the two-state solution disappear without taking action.

The government, he said, had chosen to act rather than remain a bystander as conditions on the ground changed.

Gaza and Wider Middle East Policy

Miliband placed the West Bank measures within a broader reassessment of Britain’s Middle East policy.

He said more than 70,000 people had been killed in Gaza, including at least 20,000 children, describing the scale of death and destruction as a source of profound shame.

At the same time, he reaffirmed Israel’s right to exist and defend itself and condemned the Hamas attack of October 7.

Miliband also announced sanctions against Hezbollah’s financing arm and said Britain was reimposing major economic sanctions on Iran alongside the EU and U.S.

But the central shift concerned the West Bank.

Miliband said Britain’s commitment to a two-state solution could no longer be reconciled with continued settlement expansion, forced displacement and violence without stronger action against the economic structures supporting them.