Settlements are illegal under international law, and there has been a rise in violence towards Palestinians in the West Bank by settlers in recent months. In a statement to MPs, Milib and said: " The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists."
And all too often the Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this and worse, members of it have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians." He said this position, which is in line with a 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, should be reflected in the UK's "economic relationship" with the occupied West Bank.
As a result, over the next six to nine months, the UK will introduce "a new comprehensive sanctions regime", he said. The foreign secretary also announced a ban on advertising illegal West Bank settlements in the UK."
The sanctions regime will target illegal settlements and settlement expansion, not Israel," Milib and added. Announcing the closure of the consulate - which represents the UK government in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza - Israel's Foreign Minister Saar said at a press conference: " We know that we have many friends in Britain.
" Unfortunately, we have a hostile Labour government that is consistently operating against the State of Israel, and it has left us no choice but to respond to its hostile actions." He added that 11 UK MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott and all five sitting Green Party MPs, would be banned from entering Israel, accusing them of "antisemitic and anti-Israel activity".
The UK also issued a joint statement with 11 other countries; France, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Icel and, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden. It said the group was unequivocally committed to the two-state solution and would introduce national measures or support European restrictions on trading goods with West Bank settlements.
The UK announcement comes after Israel opened up tenders for the construction of some 1,200 settlement homes in the so-called E1 area - a strategically important area east of Jerusalem. The plans have drawn widespread international condemnation.
Israel has held off on plans to build in the area for decades under global pressure. He said: " International humanitarian law imposes clear rules for states fighting wars, including to ensure access to food and medical supplies, to avoid mass displacement of civilians, and to avoid the targeting of civilians.
