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Britain weighs settlement-trade ban as Israel advances E1 construction plans: UK media
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously pledged sanctions in response to Israeli plans to build about 3,300 new settler homes in E1. (AFP file photo)
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Updated 26 August 2026 19:03
Arab News
August 26, 202618:54
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- UK media say the government is considering a broad embargo on goods and services linked to illegal Israeli settlements
- Downing Street says accounts of the planned measures remain speculative, according to The Telegraph
According to The Telegraph, Burnham is considering a full embargo on settlement goods in response to Israel’s planned construction in the contentious E1 area, a corridor between East Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement.
The measures would reportedly signal a tougher approach toward Israel than that of Burnham’s predecessor, Keir Starmer, and could further strain already frayed relations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
The development of E1 has long drawn international criticism because it could further fragment Palestinian territory in the West Bank.
Burnham has previously pledged sanctions in response to Israeli plans to build about 3,300 new settler homes in E1 — in the corridor between Jerusalem and the Jordanian border.
He and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband have drawn up a sanctions framework that would halt the exchange of goods and services with settlements, Bloomberg first reported last week.
The Times, citing a senior British government source, reported on Tuesday that the Labour government was preparing “robust” new sanctions targeting settlements. The measures could also include penalties against far-right Israeli ministers and individual settlers.
Downing Street said that reports about planned measures remained speculative.
Still, the proposal has prompted opposition from Labour Friends of Israel, a pro-Israel advocacy group within the governing party. The group warned that a settlement-only trade ban would be difficult to enforce and could amount to a broader boycott of Israel.
“A boycott of trade with settlements is practically impossible and will become a de facto boycott of all of Israel, which would be deeply damaging to the UK national interest, the British Jewish community and Palestinian workers,” the group said, according to The National.
The Scottish news outlet also reported that British officials have raised questions about enforcement, including how authorities could reliably distinguish settlement-produced goods from products made elsewhere in Israel.
Restrictions have already been announced elsewhere in Europe. Spain has banned imports originating in Israeli settlements, while Ireland has passed legislation barring the import of goods from settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
They cite a July 2024 International Court of Justice opinion that said states should not recognize or assist Israel’s unlawful presence in occupied Palestinian territory. Britain has not yet adopted a settlement-trade ban.
The issue has exposed divisions within Labour. More than 140 Labour MPs — or about a third of the party — signed a letter calling for the government to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements, The Times reported on Tuesday.
