UK, allies sanction Israeli West Bank settlers

What happened

Britain, France and Canada on Tuesday announced sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including banning all trade and services linked to them. The rapid expansion of settlements and increasing settler violence “pose a direct and urgent threat” to a two-state solution, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement. At least nine other countries said they intended to impose similar sanctions.

Who said what

“The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists,” Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said in Parliament on Tuesday. And too often, the “Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this and worse.”

The economic impact of the sanctions is “likely to be limited, since the settlements produce only a small amount of largely agricultural exports,” The Associated Press said. But it’s a “symbolic expression of displeasure with Israel by some of its closest allies” and a “new sign of the Israeli government’s growing isolation as a result of the Gaza war.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “responded to Britain’s announcement with fury and indignation and announced countermeasures,” including closing the British Consulate General in East Jerusalem, The New York Times said.

What next?

The U.S.’ Israeli ambassador, Mike Huckabee, called the sanctions “discrimination against the Jewish people” that could bring “repercussions or retaliations” from the U.S. But the White House “did not oppose” the U.K.-led effort, Axios said, citing officials and diplomats. And U.S. officials told Britain they “shared their concerns about the Netanyahu government’s West Bank policy.”