US Allies Unite to Sanction Supporters of Israeli Settler Violence

The British government, together with several Western nations including Australia, France, Canada, and Norway, has announced a new sanctions package against six companies and one individual accused of involvement in financing and supporting the escalating violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Despite this, London’s decision has drawn criticism from within its own Labour Party ranks because the government is not yet willing to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied territory. The government has only updated guidance for British companies to avoid engaging in economic activities related to these illegal settlements.

British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper explained to parliament that the government considers a comprehensive trade ban difficult to implement in practice due to enforcement challenges. Cooper stated that the government will continue to review the possibility alongside international partners. This statement disappointed more than 130 Labour MPs, including all party parliamentary committee chairs, who had previously urged the government to impose a total trade ban on Israeli settlements. They argue such a step is necessary to comply with a ruling issued by the International Court of Justice in 2024.

Chair of the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Emily Thornberry, publicly criticised the government’s approach. ‘The reality is that British companies are financing annexation incrementally through every settlement,’ Thornberry told Cooper. She added her concern that the British government is in a position of ‘risking doing too little, too late.’ The UK government’s latest guidance explicitly advises British companies against involvement in economic or financial activities in Israeli settlements built in territories occupied since 1967. However, this guidance lacks the legal force of an official ban and imposes no sanctions on companies that ignore it. The British government has also not tightened rules on labelling products originating from illegal settlements. Since 2005, products made in Israeli settlements have not been eligible for preferential tariff facilities upon entering the UK market. The government also reminded businesses that these settlements are illegal under international law, and business activities in the area carry potential reputational damage and risks of legal disputes regarding the ownership of land, water, minerals, and other natural resources that are the subject of investment or purchase. Nonetheless, London continues to affirm its support for trade relations with Israel within its internationally recognised pre-1967 borders.

International pressure on Israel is mounting amid a surge in settler violence incidents in the West Bank in recent months. The situation has intensified further after the Israeli government invited tenders for the E1 construction project, a major settlement plan encompassing approximately 3,500 new homes. If realised, the project could potentially bisect the West Bank, threatening the viability of a geographically contiguous Palestinian state. The UK has previously sanctioned two hardline Israeli ministers, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a step that the European Union has so far failed to achieve due to differing views among its member states. Cooper stressed that settlement expansion and settler violence pose a serious threat to the prospects for peace.