Israel clashes with Western allies over West Bank sanctions: As it happened

09 September 2026

The UK’s settlement trade ban has triggered a widening diplomatic clash with Israel, as more countries line up behind restrictions and West Jerusalem hits back with countermeasures.

RT correspondent Charlotte Dubenskij takes a closer look at the sanctions, Israel’s response, and whether the measures will have much practical impact.

Former UK Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould has warned that Britain’s settlement sanctions could play into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hands ahead of Israel’s October 27 parliamentary election.

Gould told Sky News that Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s swift condemnation – despite his largely ceremonial role – showed “where the center of gravity of Israeli opinion sits,” with Israelis resenting being “told what to do by a foreign power.” Herzog earlier accused Britain of “gross interference” in Israel’s election and called the trade ban a “grave miscalculation.”

Gould warned the measures could “strengthen the narrative of the Netanyahu coalition that Israel is a country under siege,” with the Israeli prime minister’s team likely to see the row as “an issue we can use to our advantage.”

Netanyahu faces a tight race. A September 6 Kan poll put Netanyahu’s Likud party at 20 of 120 Knesset seats and his right-wing bloc at 52, nine short of a majority. A Globes poll-of-polls put Likud first on 24 seats but likewise showed neither major bloc reaching the 61 needed to govern.

RT contributor Martin Jay has dismissed Britain’s settlement sanctions as largely symbolic, arguing they will have little practical impact and amount to “a political game.”

“It’s a lot of hypocrisy,” Jay said. “The big political statement that’s being made, but there’s not much behind it.”

He argued that identifying which Israeli goods originate in West Bank settlements would be difficult, pointing to previous EU efforts to distinguish settlement products.

“As a political statement, it works very well,” Jay said, claiming Labour could use the move to court Muslim voters in Britain. “But this is all politics. It’s really all about politics.”

Miliband also declined to say whether the US supported the UK’s decision to impose sanctions on West Bank settlements.

“I’ll let our American friends speak for themselves,” he said, noting that London had consulted Washington before the announcement. “I think the whole international community has been quite frustrated, to put it mildly, with some of the actions of the Israeli government. I will let them say what they feel.” 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier said Washington would not follow Britain’s lead, but stopped short of criticizing the move.

Miliband defended the settlement trade ban despite Israel’s furious retaliation, saying London is not prepared to “stand by” as settlement expansion fuels “the oppression of the Palestinian people.”

“I regret what the Israeli government has announced, but I’m proud of what we did yesterday, and it was the right thing to do,” Miliband told Sky News.

He acknowledged that Israel’s decision to close the UK consulate in East Jerusalem would be “damaging” to ties with the Palestinian Authority, but said his government has weighed the consequences.

”I strongly believe that what we did, along with other international allies, was absolutely the right thing to do.”

Analysts note that the measures targeting Israeli settlements affect only a fraction of UK-Israel trade.

According to official data, bilateral trade totaled roughly £6 billion ($8.1 billion) in 2025, compared with just £38 million in trade with the occupied Palestinian territories – well below 1%. Even that £38 million cannot be attributed entirely to settlements, however, with the House of Commons Library saying the figure is difficult to isolate because Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories operate within a customs union.

If you’re just joining us, the UK and 11 other countries earlier issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s settlement expansion and construction tenders in the West Bank’s E1 area.

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a ban on all imports from illegal West Bank settlements, with France and Canada pledging similar measures in the coming months.

The statement welcomed restrictions already taken or planned by Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and Belgium, while Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden backed national measures or broader EU action on settlement trade.

Australia later said it is preparing additional targeted sanctions but would not join Britain’s blanket trade ban “at this time.”

The trade bans come amid a rapid expansion of Israeli settlements and outposts in the West Bank.

Netanyahu’s government has publicly touted the approval and retroactive legalization of 104 communities and settlements since taking office in late 2022. Many more have also reportedly sprung up without authorization. Israeli anti-settlement NGO Peace Now puts the number at around 340 outposts, alongside 146 settlements formally recognized and funded by the Israeli authorities. Recent estimates put the outpost tally closer to 390-410 when rapidly expanding agricultural ‘farms’ are included. While the government has demolished some unauthorized outposts, settlers have quickly rebuilt them.

The expansion has led to record settler violence. The UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) said in August that attacks reached their highest recorded pace in the first half of 2026, averaging six incidents a day. Combined with military demolitions, settler attacks have displaced thousands of Palestinians, including more than 1,000 children, according to the agency.

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese has welcomed Britain’s trade ban on Israeli settlements and urged other countries to follow suit.

“Other states should follow, build on it, restore respect for the rule of law,” Albanese wrote on X. “May justice be contagious!” She also took aim at Washington, saying the US should “for once” take inspiration from others rather than pressure them into “complicity.”

Former Israeli Attorney General Michael Ben-Yair has backed Britain’s sanctions on settlements, arguing that international pressure is necessary to safeguard Israel’s future.

Writing in the Financial Times, Ben-Yair said he did not welcome punitive measures from an ally but argued that distinguishing between Israel itself and its occupation of Palestinian territory was essential to preserving prospects for peace.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has acknowledged that all member states consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but stopped short of suggesting the bloc might actually do anything about it after the UK and 11 other countries backed trade sanctions targeting the settlements.

“All EU Member States agree that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law. The Israeli Government’s settlement expansions in the West Bank are undermining the prospects for a viable two-State solution,” she wrote on X.

Kallas offered no indication that Brussels would follow suit with its own trade restrictions or propose any comparable measures, instead touting the EU’s status as the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and the West Bank.

Labour MP Richard Burgon has said Israel’s decision to ban him from entering the country would not “intimidate me into silence.”

Burgon said he had repeatedly called for sanctions on Israel and submitted evidence to the International Criminal Court, adding that he would continue to defend international law and “justice for the Palestinian people.”

British MP Zarah Sultana has called Israel’s decision to bar her from entering the country a “badge of honour,” saying it would only strengthen her determination to speak out.

“If anything, this ban only strengthens my resolve to keep speaking out,” she wrote on X, accusing Israel of “genocide, apartheid and an illegal occupation.”

Australian Labor MP Ed Husic has urged Canberra to follow Britain’s lead, calling the settlement trade ban a “big seismic move.”

“It cannot ride out the impact of sanctions,” Husic said of the Israeli government, arguing that Australia cannot support Palestinian statehood while allowing trade that helps sustain settlements undermining its viability.

Human Rights Watch has hailed the settlement trade bans announced by Britain, France and Canada as a “welcome, long-overdue step,” urging other governments and the EU to follow suit.

The group also called for preferential trade arrangements with Israel to be suspended, arms transfers halted and further measures taken to hold Israeli officials accountable.

ActionAid UK has similarly welcomed the settlement trade ban as “long overdue,” describing it as a first step toward ending British complicity in Israel’s occupation.

The Jewish Leadership Council has condemned Britain’s settlement sanctions as “deeply irresponsible,” accusing the government of placing an “increased target on British Jews.”

“The government’s increasingly punitive and unbalanced approach towards Israel does nothing to advance peace,” the group said, accusing London of “yielding to pressure from the most extreme elements of British society.”

Amnesty International UK has hailed the measures as “hugely welcome,” saying they could represent the “sea change” needed in British policy toward Israel. Chief executive Kerry Moscogiuri called the package “a genuine step towards accountability,” but said its effectiveness would depend on implementation and further measures to hold Israel accountable.

Türkiye and Egypt have welcomed the 12-country push against trade with Israeli settlements and urged other governments to adopt similar measures.

“Illegal settlements have evolved into a systematic policy of occupation,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said, claiming that settler violence had reached the level of “ethnic cleansing.”

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry called it an “important step” in support of international law, noting that continued settlement expansion threatens the territorial integrity of Palestinian lands and prospects for an independent Palestinian state.

Israel has warned Australia against following Britain with a blanket ban on trade with West Bank settlements.

“It would be a deep mistake to take steps in such a direction,” Israeli Ambassador to Australia Hillel Newman said, as Canberra prepares additional targeted sanctions over settlement expansion and settler violence.

Israeli opposition MP Gilad Kariv has denounced Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s retaliation against Britain as “childish and populist.”

Kariv accused Sa’ar of serving his political campaign rather than Israel’s interests and pointed to the prolonged absence of an Israeli ambassador in London as evidence of the government’s “negligence and lack of professionalism.”

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has called Britain’s sanctions a “grave mistake,” while blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for failing to prevent them.

“This government is leading us into unprecedented diplomatic isolation, and does nothing but issue threats that no one takes seriously,” Lapid wrote on X, warning that the British move could strengthen extremist forces ahead of Israel’s October election.

Australia is considering additional sanctions over Israeli settlement expansion and settler violence but will not join Britain’s blanket trade ban “at this time,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said.

Wong said Canberra was working with international partners on targeted measures, while warning that broader trade restrictions could have “unintended consequences.” Australia nevertheless views continuing settlement expansion as a threat to a two-state solution.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he had spoken with UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Tugendhat to thank them for their “firm opposition” to the measures and their support for UK-Israel ties.

Badenoch previously accused Labour of pursuing its Israel policy for domestic political reasons, claiming the settlement trade ban would encourage antisemitism and amount to a de facto wider boycott of Israel.

Israeli human rights groups B’Tselem and Yesh Din have welcomed Britain’s measures against West Bank settlements, calling for broader international action.

B’Tselem said London’s recognition that “ethnic cleansing is taking place in the West Bank” should mark the beginning of a wider shift from condemnation to action. Yesh Din said governments must stop supporting what it called Israel’s “illegal settlement enterprise.”

US President Donald Trump did not object to Britain’s planned sanctions on Israeli settlements when Prime Minister Andy Burnham briefed him ahead of the announcement, Axios reports, citing two sources familiar with their conversation.

US officials reportedly told London that Washington shares its concerns about the Netanyahu government’s West Bank policies, despite disagreeing with the specific sanctions. The White House also distanced itself from Ambassador Mike Huckabee’s threat of potential US retaliation, telling Axios that his remarks “were not coordinated with the White House” or the State Department.

Foreign Affairs Committee chair Emily Thornberry has welcomed the settlement sanctions but criticized the government’s plan to take six to nine months to fully implement them.

Thornberry said her committee had unanimously recommended a trade ban more than a year ago and would push the government to bring the new measures into force “as soon as possible.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has backed the sanctions, saying Britain was “right to take strong action” against settlement expansion.

“There can be no two-state solution if there is no viable state left to call Palestine,” Khan said, describing Israeli settlements on Palestinian land as “a significant obstacle to peace.”

08 September 2026

Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori has dismissed Britain’s new measures against Israeli settlements as “symbolic” and “ineffective.” Her group is proscribed as a terrorist organization in the UK and was designated by the US under counterterrorism sanctions last month.

“Britain has no issue with sanctioning and criminalising its own citizens for disrupting the Israeli weapons industry during a genocide,” Ammori wrote on X.

Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot has called Britain’s sanctions “long overdue” but described them as a “turning point” in relations with Palestine.

“Today, Britain begins to move from condemnation to consequences, from words to action,” he said, while calling for further measures against Israel, including an arms embargo.

New Zealand has condemned Israel’s settlement expansion and escalating settler violence in the West Bank, warning that both are undermining prospects for peace.

“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are a violation of international law,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said, urging Israel to halt settlement expansion and reject any steps toward annexation or the forcible displacement of Palestinians. He added that Wellington “strongly condemns violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians” and called for those responsible to be held accountable.

Israeli settler leaders have denounced Britain’s trade ban, with Yesha Council chairman Yisrael Ganz calling it “antisemitic” and “a moral disgrace.” Ganz vowed to answer pressure with “more construction, more communities, and greater Israeli sovereignty,” according to the Times of Israel.

Meanwhile, Israeli group Peace Now welcomed the sanctions, saying settlements “endanger the future of the State of Israel” and praising the distinction between Israel itself and settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Qatar has welcomed Britain’s trade ban on goods from Israeli settlements as an “important step” toward deterring settlement expansion, which Doha described as a “flagrant violation of international law.”

The Qatari Foreign Ministry also welcomed moves by other countries to consider similar restrictions and urged more governments to follow suit.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has welcomed Britain’s sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements but said London should go much further, calling for an end to all arms sales and military cooperation with Israel.

“Sanctions on illegal settlements are welcome, but not enough,” Corbyn wrote on X. “Britain must end all arms sales, all military cooperation, and all forms of support that sustain Israel’s system of apartheid, occupation and genocide.”

In a later statement, Corbyn also condemned Israel’s decision to bar him and ten other British MPs from entering the country. “I have visited all parts of Palestine on several occasions, where I have witnessed the horrors of occupation, as well as the resilience and humanity of the Palestinian people,” he said.

Corbyn accused Israel of denying access to UN investigators and international journalists because it “doesn’t want the world to see what it is doing,” and vowed to keep speaking out “for peace, freedom and justice for the Palestinian people.”

The Board of Deputies of British Jews has expressed “deep regret” over Britain’s sanctions, warning that the worsening relationship with Israel could damage both countries’ security and economies and further inflame tensions in the UK.

The group said the measures were particularly concerning ahead of Rosh Hashanah and warned that policies focused on the Israeli government without sufficiently addressing Palestinian leaders and other regional actors could deepen “community divisions.”

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has defended the sanctions, saying Britain must be “willing to lead” and would “continue to act in support of our values.”

“Today, we are bringing forward targeted measures aimed not at the Israeli people, but in support of the two-state solution,” Burnham said, calling Palestinian suffering “a scar on the conscience of the world.”

Meanwhile, Israel is pressing ahead with plans for 1,234 new homes in E1, a contested area of the occupied West Bank between Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. The project was specifically cited by the 12 countries in announcing today’s measures.

The Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday rejected a request to freeze the tender while legal challenges are heard, allowing the bidding process to continue. Critics say construction in E1 would disrupt Palestinian territorial continuity and further undermine prospects for a future Palestinian state.

An RT crew has visited Khirbet al-Taban, a small Palestinian herding community in Masafer Yatta in the southern West Bank, where Israeli forces demolished all 12 homes, have leaving its 70 residents homeless.

“What happened was the erasure of this village from existence,” local council head Nidal Younis told RT. The community lies within an Israeli-designated military training zone, with the Israeli authorities citing unauthorized construction in carrying out the demolitions.

Asked by RT whether the demolitions amounted to ethnic cleansing, an Israeli peace activist at the scene replied: “Totally. They’re not announcing it, but they do it.”

WATCH the full report below.

Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has called the government’s move a “dark day for British Jews,” warning that it could fuel hostility toward the Jewish community.

Mirvis accused London of ignoring concerns raised by British Jews and said the measures would “succeed only in bolstering the very extremism they seek to target.”

He argued that the sanctions would neither advance peace nor make people safer.

US Republican Congressman Randy Fine has warned that British companies complying with London’s measures could face restrictions in Florida under the state’s anti-boycott law.

The UK is Florida’s top foreign investor, according to the state’s international commerce agency, SelectFlorida, with more than 350 British-owned companies operating at over 600 locations.

“Any company – or nation – that boycotts Israel is boycotted by Florida,” Fine said.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has warned that Britain could face “repercussions or retaliations” in the US over its measures targeting West Bank settlements.

He cited Florida as an example, saying state law could prevent British businesses complying with the measures from doing business there.

Huckabee also stood by his accusation of “Jew hate” against the British government, saying the measures amounted to “discrimination against the Jewish people.”

The Palestinian presidency has welcomed the UK announcement as an “important step toward confronting the system of Israeli colonial settlement and its violations against the Palestinian people.”

It called for further international action to halt settlement expansion and impose sanctions on those responsible for settler violence.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, however, has backed the British move, calling it “unavoidable” because of what he described as continuing “ethnic cleansing” in the West Bank by “Israeli terrorists.”

Olmert accused some Israeli police and military units of supporting those responsible, while blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz for “inaction and indifference.”

“Sanctions are directed against the terrorists not against Israel,” he said.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has accused Britain of “gross interference” in Israel’s elections, which are due to take place next month.

Herzog called the settlement trade ban a “grave miscalculation” that would fall “on the wrong side of history,” and argued that it would also harm Palestinians by depriving them of business and employment.

Russia has repeatedly raised concerns over settlement expansion and rising violence in the West Bank.

Moscow has described Israeli settlement activity in the territory as unlawful and warned last month that Israel’s “creeping expansion” and escalating settler violence were pushing the West Bank toward a “point of no return.”

Jordan has welcomed the growing international push against Israeli settlements, backing both Britain’s trade measures and the wider 12-country call for restrictions on settlement goods.

The Foreign Ministry called the British move an “essential step” toward upholding international law and urged other countries to take practical measures against settlement expansion. Amman also welcomed London’s condemnation of what it described as “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in parts of the West Bank.

Washington, Israel’s closest ally, has made clear it will not follow Britain’s lead.

“Obviously, we’re not going to do what the UK did,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters, while stressing that Washington does not want to see “anything destabilizing” in the West Bank.

Rubio warned that instability there could undermine US efforts to advance the Gaza peace process.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has said London is taking a “new approach” to Israel and Palestine, while stressing his personal support for the Jewish state.

“I am proud of my Jewishness and unwavering in my support for the State of Israel,” Miliband told Parliament. “Our argument is not with the people of Israel, with whom the UK has unshakeable bonds. Our argument is with the conduct of its government.”

Miliband said acknowledging what Britain considers “ethnic cleansing” in parts of the West Bank should be “the prelude to justice.”

Israel will close the British consulate in Jerusalem, expel UK representatives from the US-backed International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat, and end British training of Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank, Sa’ar announced. Israel will also bar 12 British elected officials and citizens it accuses of “antisemitic and anti-Israel activity.”

“Unfortunately, there is a hostile Labour government in office that is systematically acting against Israel, and it will leave us no choice but to respond to its hostile moves,” Sa’ar said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has accused Britain of meddling in Israel’s domestic politics, calling the move “morally distorted” and “blatant interference in the affairs of a sovereign state and its electoral process.” He also claimed the measures were driven by domestic political considerations ahead of the Labour Party conference later this month.