The United Kingdom will ban imports of goods and some services from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Parliament on September 8, 2026, in a move coordinated with France and Canada.
Miliband said the ban covers all settlement goods and extends to services including financing, construction, infrastructure, real estate and advertising tied to settlement expansion. He also announced sanctions on companies and individuals that facilitate settlement growth and said Britain would refuse export licenses for arms and related equipment linked to the settlements.
The foreign secretary told lawmakers that settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank amounted to “ethnic cleansing” and said he was setting out the measures “as a proud Jew.” He framed the announcement as a broader reset of U.K. policy toward Israel, arguing the government could no longer limit its response to verbal condemnation while settlement activity accelerated.
France and Canada announced matching import bans on the same day. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden pledged support for further coordinated action, while the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway have already imposed restrictions or are moving to do so. British officials said twelve countries in total have now backed some form of trade measure against the settlements.
U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham raised the issue directly with President Donald Trump in a call on September 7, 2026, according to Burnham’s office, which said the prime minister set out Britain’s commitment to a two-state solution. Burnham has also criticized Israel’s E1 settlement project, which would extend built-up areas east of Jerusalem and cut the West Bank in two.
The measures drew an immediate rebuke from Washington. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called the ban “discrimination against the Jewish people” and warned that the U.K. could face repercussions, including exclusion from business in a number of U.S. states.
Israeli officials responded with their own warnings. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel would respond to the measures. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the British ambassador to Israel to be expelled, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to close the British consulate in East Jerusalem, accusing it of acting on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.
All Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, a position the Israeli government disputes. The West Bank has been under Israeli occupation since 1967, and violence involving Israeli settlers and Palestinian residents has continued since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
Sources: CNN · NPR · NBC News · Al Jazeera
