The UK is set to announce economic restrictions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank as early as Tuesday, The Guardian reports.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband will announce a trade ban on goods produced in Israeli settlements.
At the same time, the sources of The New York Times reported that the announced measures may also include sanctions against companies that help build Israeli settlements.
In turn, The Jerusalem Post, citing its own sources, reports that in addition to a ban on the import of goods produced in Israeli settlements, the new measures will include targeted sanctions against Israeli organizations and individuals.
Miliband told civil society groups he is determined to reassert support for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict with an appeal for the protection of Palestinian rights and respect for international law.
In his statement to MPs, Miliband is expected to use firmer language than his recent predecessors in calling out the “humanitarian injustices” suffered by Palestinians in Gaza.
Miliband’s intervention comes as polling released to The Guardian shows Britons across the political divide “strongly favour” banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements by a margin of more than two to one.
The polling, conducted by Opinium and published by the European Council on Foreign Relations, shows that only 18% of UK adults oppose a ban on trade in goods with Israeli settlements, compared with 46% “in favour.”
Israel has already reacted to media reports of the expected announcement.
Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, appeared to respond to the reports by saying “expel the British ambassador tonight!” He said the British mandate in Israel is over. He called the UK a country taken over by radical Islam, which is trying to escape economic and social decline by attacking Jews and the State of Israel.
For his part, Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Israel to recognize Argentina’s sovereignty over the disputed Malvinas—the British name: Falkland—Islands and impose sanctions against Great Britain as long as the occupation continues. He accused London of forcibly seizing the islands and stealing the money of the Argentine people.

















