Andy Burnham and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband are facing a worsening diplomatic crisis with Israel after Britain announced a ban on trade in goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Israel has responded by ordering the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem, barring a number of British MPs from entering the country and removing UK personnel from a US-led operation monitoring the Gaza ceasefire.
The measures were announced after Mr Miliband accused violent settlers of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” against Palestinians, with the British Government arguing that settlement expansion posed a direct threat to the creation of a viable Palestinian state.
Under the new policy, imports of goods produced in settlements will be prohibited. British companies and individuals involved in settlement construction, infrastructure, financing, property and advertising will also face restrictions, with the measures expected to take effect within nine months.
The action was co-ordinated with France, Canada and a group of European countries. A joint statement issued by the governments said settlement expansion and rising settler violence were undermining the possibility of a two-state solution.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar condemned the decision as “morally distorted” and accused the British Government of interfering in Israel’s affairs. The consulate in East Jerusalem, which deals largely with Palestinian issues in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem, has reportedly been given 30 days to close.
Israel also said it would end British involvement in training Palestinian security forces in the West Bank and exclude UK representatives from the Gaza co-ordination mission. Several British politicians, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, were among those named as being barred from Israel.
Mr Burnham defended the policy in the Commons, saying Britain had to “stand for fairness against injustice” and would support people being forced from their homes. He described the decision as an example of British leadership on the international stage.
Mr Miliband said he regretted Israel’s response but had expected a hostile reaction. He insisted the Government had weighed the consequences of acting and concluded that it could not stand by while settlement expansion continued.
Donald Trump was briefed by Mr Burnham before the announcement, according to reports in the United States, but did not ask the Prime Minister to abandon or delay the measures. The White House has so far taken a muted position, while senior US officials have stopped short of endorsing the sanctions.
The dispute marks one of the sharpest ruptures in recent years between Britain and Israel, with ministers in London defending targeted action against settlements while insisting that it is not a boycott of Israel or its people.
