The United Kingdom announced sanctions on Jewish communities in the West Bank, which it identifies as illegally occupied by Israel, while Israel declared retaliatory measures including the closure of the UK consulate.
Foreign news agencies reported that on Tuesday, 8 Sep 2026 GMT+7, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced that his country will ban imports of goods from Jewish communities in the West Bank, which are deemed illegally occupied by Israel, along with other sanctions.
Miliband made the announcement during a parliamentary session, stating he did not believe "the British public wants us to support the occupation by accepting goods from Jewish settlements into our stores."
He added that a "comprehensive sanctions regime" would be established, which would include "appropriate religious exemptions."
The UK Foreign Secretary further said this sends a message to those supporting and facilitating illegal Jewish settlements that "you will face the full force of UK sanctions."
He also told parliament that the UK recognizes genocide has occurred in parts of the West Bank, accusing "terrorist settlers" of driving Palestinians from their land "often with the Israeli government's tacit approval."
"The official UK government position is that this occupation (West Bank) is illegal, as Israel has tightened control, intends permanent sovereignty, and pursues territorial expansion through illegal Jewish settlements," he said.
Miliband also announced a ban on advertising related to illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank within the UK. "These sanctions target illegal settlements and their expansion, not the state of Israel."
He further declared that the UK is sanctioning additional "extremist settler groups" involved in "supporting or inciting violence" against Palestinian communities.
"I also announce we are expanding the scope of existing global human rights mechanisms to enable quicker action to halt settlement expansion, especially efforts to block the E1 development project (Jewish settlement east of Jerusalem)," Miliband added.
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced four countermeasures in response to the UK's sanctions.
1. Israel will close the UK consulate in Jerusalem.
2. Israel will remove British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat, southern Israel.
3. Israel will end British activities training Palestinian security forces in Judea and Samaria (the Israeli government’s term for the West Bank) under the "British Support Team," a small UK military unit based in Ramallah.
4. Israel will deny entry to 12 elected UK representatives and other British nationals involved in anti-Jewish and anti-Israel activities, as well as those who deny Israel’s existence.
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Source:bbc