Israel clashes with Western allies over West Bank sanctions: As it happened
A sharp diplomatic rift has erupted between Israel and several of its key Western partners after 12 countries backed restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and London accused settlers of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in parts of the territory.
The UK, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden issued a joint statement on Tuesday pledging to introduce, support, or consider restrictions on settlement goods, citing “unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion.”
London, Paris, and Ottawa specifically committed to national trade bans, while the group demanded that Israel “immediately halt” settlement expansion, ensure accountability for settler violence and investigate allegations against Israeli forces.
The UK measures linked to settlements include:
- A ban on all imports from illegal Israeli settlements;
- Sanctions on businesses, organizations, and individuals involved in settlement expansion through construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate;
- A ban on UK advertising for properties in illegal settlements;
- Sanctions on extremist settlers who have supported or incited violence against Palestinians;
- A ban on new export licenses for weapons and other goods deemed to “materially contribute to the occupation.”
Goods and services from Israel itself remain exempt.
Israel has retaliated against London by closing the British consulate in Jerusalem, expelling UK representatives from a US-backed Gaza coordination center and barring British politicians and activists. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had already called on his government to recognize Argentine sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
US President Donald Trump reportedly did not object when British Prime Minister Andy Burnham briefed him on the measures in advance. Meanwhile, the escalating row has drawn mixed reactions from governments and political figures around the world.
This live has now ended.
09 September 2026
08:24 GMTThe UK’s settlement trade ban has triggered a widening diplomatic clash with Israel, as more countries line up behind restrictions and West Jerusalem hits back with countermeasures.
RT correspondent Charlotte Dubenskij takes a closer look at the sanctions, Israel’s response, and whether the measures will have much practical impact.
- 08:20 GMT
Former UK Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould has warned that Britain’s settlement sanctions could play into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hands ahead of Israel’s October 27 parliamentary election.
Gould told Sky News that Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s swift condemnation – despite his largely ceremonial role – showed “where the center of gravity of Israeli opinion sits,” with Israelis resenting being “told what to do by a foreign power.” Herzog earlier accused Britain of “gross interference” in Israel’s election and called the trade ban a “grave miscalculation.”
Gould warned the measures could “strengthen the narrative of the Netanyahu coalition that Israel is a country under siege,” with the Israeli prime minister’s team likely to see the row as “an issue we can use to our advantage.”
Netanyahu faces a tight race. A September 6 Kan poll put Netanyahu’s Likud party at 20 of 120 Knesset seats and his right-wing bloc at 52, nine short of a majority. A Globes poll-of-polls put Likud first on 24 seats but likewise showed neither major bloc reaching the 61 needed to govern.
- 07:56 GMT
RT contributor Martin Jay has dismissed Britain’s settlement sanctions as largely symbolic, arguing they will have little practical impact and amount to “a political game.”
“It’s a lot of hypocrisy,” Jay said. “The big political statement that’s being made, but there’s not much behind it.”
He argued that identifying which Israeli goods originate in West Bank settlements would be difficult, pointing to previous EU efforts to distinguish settlement products.
“As a political statement, it works very well,” Jay said, claiming Labour could use the move to court Muslim voters in Britain. “But this is all politics. It’s really all about politics.”
- 07:56 GMT
Miliband also declined to say whether the US supported the UK’s decision to impose sanctions on West Bank settlements.
“I’ll let our American friends speak for themselves,” he said, noting that London had consulted Washington before the announcement. “I think the whole international community has been quite frustrated, to put it mildly, with some of the actions of the Israeli government. I will let them say what they feel.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier said Washington would not follow Britain’s lead, but stopped short of criticizing the move.
Together we are resolute.
— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) September 8, 2026
My joint statement with the Foreign Ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
https://t.co/dortp6SmG8pic.twitter.com/nQljIyWWXz - 07:41 GMT
Miliband defended the settlement trade ban despite Israel’s furious retaliation, saying London is not prepared to “stand by” as settlement expansion fuels “the oppression of the Palestinian people.”
“I regret what the Israeli government has announced, but I’m proud of what we did yesterday, and it was the right thing to do,” Miliband told Sky News.
He acknowledged that Israel’s decision to close the UK consulate in East Jerusalem would be “damaging” to ties with the Palestinian Authority, but said his government has weighed the consequences.
”I strongly believe that what we did, along with other international allies, was absolutely the right thing to do.”
- 07:27 GMT
Analysts note that the measures targeting Israeli settlements affect only a fraction of UK-Israel trade.
According to official data, bilateral trade totaled roughly £6 billion ($8.1 billion) in 2025, compared with just £38 million in trade with the occupied Palestinian territories – well below 1%. Even that £38 million cannot be attributed entirely to settlements, however, with the House of Commons Library saying the figure is difficult to isolate because Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories operate within a customs union.
- 07:26 GMT
If you’re just joining us, the UK and 11 other countries earlier issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s settlement expansion and construction tenders in the West Bank’s E1 area.
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a ban on all imports from illegal West Bank settlements, with France and Canada pledging similar measures in the coming months.
The statement welcomed restrictions already taken or planned by Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and Belgium, while Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden backed national measures or broader EU action on settlement trade.
Australia later said it is preparing additional targeted sanctions but would not join Britain’s blanket trade ban “at this time.”
- 07:19 GMT
The trade bans come amid a rapid expansion of Israeli settlements and outposts in the West Bank.
Netanyahu’s government has publicly touted the approval and retroactive legalization of 104 communities and settlements since taking office in late 2022. Many more have also reportedly sprung up without authorization. Israeli anti-settlement NGO Peace Now puts the number at around 340 outposts, alongside 146 settlements formally recognized and funded by the Israeli authorities. Recent estimates put the outpost tally closer to 390-410 when rapidly expanding agricultural ‘farms’ are included. While the government has demolished some unauthorized outposts, settlers have quickly rebuilt them.
The expansion has led to record settler violence. The UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) said in August that attacks reached their highest recorded pace in the first half of 2026, averaging six incidents a day. Combined with military demolitions, settler attacks have displaced thousands of Palestinians, including more than 1,000 children, according to the agency.
- 05:55 GMT
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese has welcomed Britain’s trade ban on Israeli settlements and urged other countries to follow suit.
“Other states should follow, build on it, restore respect for the rule of law,” Albanese wrote on X. “May justice be contagious!” She also took aim at Washington, saying the US should “for once” take inspiration from others rather than pressure them into “complicity.”
Of course there should be consequences to the UK's announced trade ban: other states should follow, build on it, restore respect for the rule of law.
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) September 8, 2026
May justice be contagious!
And imagine if the US for once took inspiration from others instead of pressuring them into complicity. https://t.co/J2fcbgloDF - 05:41 GMT
Former Israeli Attorney General Michael Ben-Yair has backed Britain’s sanctions on settlements, arguing that international pressure is necessary to safeguard Israel’s future.
Writing in the Financial Times, Ben-Yair said he did not welcome punitive measures from an ally but argued that distinguishing between Israel itself and its occupation of Palestinian territory was essential to preserving prospects for peace.
