UK and 11 Other Countries Announce Trade Restrictions on Israeli West Bank Settlements

The United Kingdom and eleven other countries announced coordinated trade restrictions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, in one of the most significant joint international actions on the issue to date. The foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Britain issued a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to a two-state solution and announcing measures to restrict trade with settlements considered illegal under international law.

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced Britain's own import ban on goods from Israeli settlements in parliament, accusing "settler terrorists" of having committed "ethnic cleansing" against Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel strongly condemned the coordinated action; officials in Jerusalem said they were considering a response, and Al Jazeera reported the country moved to close the UK consulate in Jerusalem in retaliation for the sanctions.