LONDON/ISLAMABAD (MNN); British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has accused the Israeli government of turning a “blind eye” to what he described as the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank, as Britain and 11 other countries announced plans to impose or consider restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements.
In a video statement on Tuesday, Miliband described the situation in Palestine as a “moral emergency” and said there was growing evidence of war crimes in Gaza.
“We are witnessing unprecedented settler terrorism in the West Bank,” he said.
Miliband said the British government had reached the conclusion that Palestinians were being forcibly displaced from parts of the West Bank by settler violence.
“The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists,” he said, adding that the Israeli government had failed to stop such actions.
He alleged that Israeli authorities had not only ignored the growing violence but that certain officials and government members had made statements or taken actions that enabled the forced displacement of Palestinians.
Miliband said Britain would take stronger action in response and reaffirmed London’s commitment to a two-state solution.
“We will not stand by. We are going to be stronger in standing up for what is right, and bolder in the action we take,” he said.
He also declared that Britain was formally calling the occupation of Palestinian territory unlawful and announced a series of measures targeting Israeli settlements.
The British government will introduce an import ban on goods produced in illegal settlements in the occupied territories, a move that Miliband said would be coordinated with other countries.
Britain will also take action against specific companies and individuals involved in providing construction, infrastructure, financing and real estate services for settlement expansion. The new measures are expected to be implemented within six to nine months.
In addition, London announced sanctions against another group of extremist Israeli settlers accused of supporting or inciting violence against Palestinian communities.
Miliband, whose family background includes Jewish refugees who came to Britain, said he remained proud of his Jewish heritage and unwavering in his support for Israel.
He stressed, however, that supporting Israel did not contradict his support for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
“There is absolutely no contradiction between this and my support for the State of Palestine,” he said.
Meanwhile, the United States made clear that it would not join the British-led measures against trade with Israeli settlements.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington had no intention of following the UK’s approach and wanted to avoid any further instability in the West Bank.
“Obviously, we’re not going to do what the UK did,” Rubio told journalists before leaving for a visit to Latin America.
“We don’t want to see anything destabilising going on right now in the West Bank with so much going on in the region,” he added.
Britain, Canada and France are among 12 countries that have announced sanctions or restrictions, or said they are actively considering such measures, against trade involving Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The other countries include Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the 12 countries warned that Israel’s actions in the West Bank were undermining the prospects of a two-state solution.
“The situation is rapidly deteriorating amid unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion,” the ministers said.
They called on the Israeli government to immediately halt settlement expansion, prevent settler violence, ensure accountability for those responsible and investigate allegations involving Israeli forces.
The countries confirmed their intention to introduce national restrictions, or support European restrictions, on trade in goods originating from settlements regarded as illegal under international law.
Ireland and Spain have already taken measures concerning trade with Israeli settlements, while France has been pushing for similar restrictions at the European Union level.
The latest international action comes as an Israeli court rejected a petition seeking to halt a major settlement project east of Jerusalem, a development rights groups say could severely undermine the territorial continuity of a future Palestinian state.
The Jerusalem District Court dismissed the request filed by rights groups seeking to stop the publication of tenders for the project.
Israel’s construction and housing ministry had opened a tender in July for the construction of more than 1,200 housing units.
Rights organisations, including Israeli NGO Peace Now, challenged the move, arguing that the development could lead to the eviction of hundreds of Palestinians and create irreversible facts on the ground.
The controversial E1 settlement plan, approved by Israel last year after remaining frozen for decades, would further isolate Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.
Six European countries, including Britain and France, had called on Israel in August to halt the project.
However, the Israeli court ruled that no irreversible physical changes were imminent and that sufficient legal safeguards existed before construction began.
Rights groups criticised the ruling, saying it could allow the Israeli government to advance the project during the remaining months of its term.
“The court’s decision plays into the government’s hands, allowing it to establish facts on the ground that will create a destructive reality which will be extremely difficult to reverse,” the NGOs said.
The developments have intensified international concern over expanding Israeli settlements and rising settler violence in the occupied West Bank, with Britain and several other countries warning that continued settlement expansion could further weaken prospects for an independent Palestinian state and a lasting two-state solution.
