LONDON: The UK government is working on plans to ban imports and exports involving Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Speaking before the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee on Wednesday, Trade Minister Chris Bryant said there was a “very strong” moral and legal case for prohibiting goods and services linked to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Such a move would mark a significant shift in government policy, after ministers previously said they were reviewing options but stopped short of backing a ban.
Bryant said officials from the Department for Business and Trade and the Foreign Office were examining how such a measure could be implemented, with ministers considering whether existing UK sanctions legislation could provide a legal basis, rather than having to introduce new laws.
“We’re trying to work in granular detail on what this would look like, and it could be that the sanctions legislation is the legal basis for the ban,” he said.
The proposed restrictions should also cover services, he added, including financial, legal and property-related activities connected with settlements. Bryant cited concerns that UK companies could be involved in providing mortgages, estate agency services, legal advice or accountancy support for developments within Israeli settlements.
He acknowledged that enforcement of any ban would present challenges, not least because products originating in settlements are often labeled as coming from Israel, making the true origin difficult to verify.
“We all know perfectly well that it’s very difficult to enforce (customs rules) because (Palestinian) territories and the settlement areas and the rest of Israel... goods travel in and out very easily, both heavy machinery and foodstuffs and so on,” he said.
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are considered to be illegal under international law by the UK, the UN and most of the international community.
Britain has long opposed settlement expansion, arguing it undermines efforts to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel disputes the notion that settlements are illegal and rejects the characterization that it is an occupying power in the territories.
