Israel has ordered the closure of Britain’s consulate in Jerusalem and imposed a series of measures against British officials after the UK joined France, Canada and other countries in announcing restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The retaliatory steps came after Britain’s Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accused Israel of allowing “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in parts of the West Bank and criticised Israeli authorities over increasing settler violence.
“The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank — perpetrated by settler terrorists,” Miliband told parliament.
He also accused members of the Israeli government of supporting the forced displacement of Palestinians.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected the allegations as “outrageous lies” and described Britain’s decision as interference in Israel’s internal affairs.
Saar announced that Israel would close the British consulate in Jerusalem, expel British representatives at a centre monitoring the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire plan and block British training for Palestinian Authority forces.
Israel also banned 12 Britons, mostly lawmakers from the governing Labour Party, from entering the country.
The diplomatic dispute erupted after 12 countries announced plans to impose or support restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The group includes Britain, France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
The countries condemned what they described as “unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion”, warning that settlement activity was undermining the possibility of a two-state solution.
British measures will target companies and individuals involved in providing construction, financing and real estate services to settlements. Britain will also prohibit the advertising or promotion of land and property in Israeli settlements and has imposed sanctions on five additional individuals accused of inciting or carrying out violence against Palestinians.
The settlements export agricultural products, wine, Dead Sea cosmetics and industrial goods. UK government figures put trade with the occupied Palestinian territories at about £38 million ($51 million) in 2025.
France has also announced that it “will end trade” with settlements, while Ireland and Spain have previously introduced measures targeting settlement commerce.
The United States, however, rejected the coordinated action. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would not follow Britain’s lead because it did not want to destabilise the West Bank.
Israel has continued to expand settlements despite their being considered illegal under international law. More than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements alongside roughly three million Palestinians.
The dispute comes amid heightened international criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack. In the West Bank, at least 1,105 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers since the beginning of the Gaza war, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data.
