UK, France, Canada and 10 others ban West Bank settlement imports; Israel shuts UK consulate, bars officials

Britain, France and Canada on Tuesday announced bans on imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, citing threats to a two-state solution and escalating violence. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the UK could no longer merely condemn settlement expansion, which he called a threat to Palestinian statehood, and accused "settler terrorists" of "ethnic cleansing" in parts of the West Bank, alleging Israeli government complicity .
The measures were joined by 10 other countries, including Denmark, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden, in a joint statement condemning "unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion" and Israel’s recent tender for 1,200 new West Bank housing units . French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Paris acted as the West Bank was "on the brink of explosion," citing illegal settlement growth and settler attacks .
Israel retaliated by ordering the closure of Britain’s consulate in East Jerusalem and banning entry to 12 Britons, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, accusing them of anti-Israel activity . Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also said Britain would be expelled from a US-led Gaza coordination mission and barred from training Palestinian security forces .
Miliband stressed the sanctions target settlements, not Israel, and said Britain would continue trade with pre-1967 Israel while suspending 30 arms licenses for the Israeli military in Gaza . The trade bans, though largely symbolic due to the small volume of settlement exports, align with the 12 nations’ pledge to "take action in pursuit of a just and lasting peace" .
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