A sharp diplomatic rift has erupted between Israel and several of its key Western partners after 12 countries backed restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and London accused settlers of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in parts of the territory.
The UK, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden issued a joint statement on Tuesday pledging to introduce, support, or consider restrictions on settlement goods, citing what they called “unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion.” Britain, France, and Canada specifically committed to national trade bans, while the group demanded that Israel “immediately halt” settlement expansion, ensure accountability for settler violence and investigate allegations against Israeli forces.
The joint move marks a further deterioration in Israel’s relations with several Western governments, with tensions particularly acute with Britain. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had already called on his government to recognize Argentine sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and impose sanctions on the UK before Israel announced a series of retaliatory measures against London.
08 September 2026
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.”
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.