Burnham’s expected UK ban on Israeli settlement goods draws broad support

London, United Kingdom – UK Prime Minister and Labour leader Andy Burnham is expected to soon approve a ban on goods linked to Israeli settlements after the Israeli government issued tenders to build more than 1,200 units for a settlement in the occupied West Bank called E1.

“Sanctions on Israel’s illegal settlements would be a very welcome first step in helping to bring an end to Israel’s unlawful occupation,” Labour lawmaker Richard Burgon told Al Jazeera on Thursday. “The International Court of Justice has been clear that all states have obligations to bring that unlawful situation to an end. These sanctions would be an important move towards meeting our moral as well as our legal obligations.”

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The E1 settlement project would ultimately create a continuous Israeli settlement “corridor” between occupied East Jerusalem and the large settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, 7km (4.5 miles) east of Jerusalem. Settlements and outposts on occupied land are illegal under international law.

“The UK government has long-declared E1 to be a red line, and Israel’s total disregard for that red line appears to be what’s motivating these possible actions,” Sarah Sanbar, acting Israel-Palestine researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera.

MP Richard Burgon is pictured with Katie Fallon of the Campaign Against Arms Trade at an event in London examining Israeli war crimes in Gaza [File: Anealla Safdar/Al Jazeera]

On August 19, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband issued a news release on behalf of the UK government condemning the expansion.

“This Israeli Government’s publication of a tender for the E1 settlement project is an unacceptable and destructive act,” the release read, noting that Miliband had summoned the Israeli charge d’affaires to express opposition to the settlements. “In the coming weeks we will set out a comprehensive set of measures to respond to Israeli government policies, protect the viability of the Palestinian state, target sanctions at those who participate in illegal settlement expansion and support a just and lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians.”

Last week, Bloomberg News reported that Burnham’s government was “drafting fresh sanctions”.

“We do not comment on speculation,” a spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement to Al Jazeera. “The Foreign Secretary has been clear that illegal settlements threaten the viability of a Palestinian state and undermine security for both Israelis and Palestinians.”

“[Human Rights Watch] welcomes any steps the UK takes towards banning trade with illegal settlements,” Sanbar told Al Jazeera. “We have long been calling on the UK to do more than just condemn. It’s only through concrete action by demonstrating that violations of international law are going to be met with consequences, not just words, that we can expect behaviour to actually change.”

Israel-allied groups condemn proposal

Critics of a ban, most notably the Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), said sanctions could trigger economic blowback for Britons, Palestinians and Israelis or prove to be flat-out impossible.

The LFI’s most recent report noted that Israel’s settlement expansion “weakens the viability of a future Palestinian state and does nothing to enhance Israel’s security”.

Still, the report goes on to condemn sanctions that go “beyond violent extremist settlers and organisations”, noting that such measures would be “impossible” to implement.

For experts, it is unclear where this impossibility lies.

“That’s not true, and that’s not a good enough excuse for the UK to not uphold its obligations under international law,” Sanbar said.

The LFI report further noted that Israel’s settler economy is “inextricably linked” to Palestine’s and Israelis living within Israel’s borders could be “adversely” affected as a ban could become a “de facto boycott of Israel”.

Sanbar said that theory does not add up.

“Opponents of a ban … often try to conflate Israel’s economy with that of the settlements,” Sanbar said. “If business owners move their business out of occupied territory – essentially if they stop violating international law – they can continue their business activities.”

Aside from Israel, the United States has shown a willingness to retaliate against foreign governments protesting against Israel’s actions. The administration of President Donald Trump recently sanctioned several members of the International Criminal Court who have investigated war crimes in Gaza.

One in two Britons support ban: Poll

The concerns voiced by critics of a ban do not reflect the opinions of the British public.

Recent polling from YouGov suggested that one in two Britons support a ban on trade with illegal settlements and only 16 percent of respondents oppose a ban.

Advocacy organisations like the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) have also noticed a shift from the public.

“May’s local election results and polling from that time has shown that British voters have abandoned Labour in large numbers over its failure to hold Israel to account over the genocide in Gaza,” a PSC spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

More than 140 Labour MPs, Burgon included, have called for the trade ban.

“Burnham is right to plan sanctions on Israeli settlements and ban goods from there,” Labour MP Sarah Champion of Rotherham, who also serves as chairwoman of the International Development Select Committee, said. “The occupation of the West Bank is illegal under international law, and we should not be supporting it in any way.”

Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, wrote to The Sunday Times in support of the ban and in protest against its critics.

“A UK ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories is long overdue,” he wrote, further noting that “this is a problem of Israel’s making.”

Last year alone, Israel allotted more than $800m to expand illegal settlements after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is a settler himself, promised in 2023 to “double” the settler population.

The expected UK sanctions, for human rights advocates and experts like Sanbar, mark a welcome step in protesting against Israel’s increasingly brazen campaign against the Palestinians.

“Banning trade with illegal settlements would make war crimes less profitable,” she said.