West Bank · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE, and Others Welcome UK Ban on Israeli Settlement Goods
UK bans imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Eight Arab and Muslim states welcomed the decision and urged others to follow.
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UK settlement goods ban
Saudi Arabia and seven other Arab and Muslim countries welcomed Britain’s decision to ban imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and urged other states to take similar steps consistent with international law.
“welcomed Britain’s decision to ban imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank”
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkiye, Qatar and Egypt said they hoped the British move would mobilize the wider international community and called for holding organizations and individuals involved in illegal settlement activity accountable, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Israel responded by announcing the closure of the British Consulate in East Jerusalem and barring 12 Britons from entering Israel, while the sanctions were announced in coordination with France and Canada.
The joint statement by the 12 countries—France, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden—said they would introduce national measures or support European restrictions on trading goods with West Bank settlements considered illegal under international law.
The ministers also renewed calls for Israel to reverse settlement measures and other steps aimed at altering the geographic and demographic character of the occupied territories, with the statement citing Israel’s E1 settlement project east of Jerusalem and construction tenders for more than 1,200 homes in E1.
Reactions and countermeasures
In a joint statement, the eight foreign ministers—Türkiye, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—said the UK’s restrictions were announced alongside a broader joint statement on the two-state solution and stressed the need to preserve the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state.
They urged the international community to build on the UK-led steps and adopt concrete measures to end activities that support or sustain illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, and they said the announced measures were consistent with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, including UN Security Council Resolution 2334 and the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion of July 19, 2024.
Israel responded to the announcement by saying it would close the United Kingdom's consulate in occupied East Jerusalem, which serves Palestinians, in response to the measures.
Dawn reported that Pakistan welcomed the UK-led decision and quoted the foreign office joint statement saying the ministers hoped the international community would “hold accountable settlement organisations and individuals engaged in illegal settlement activities”.
Dawn also said the foreign office welcomed the decision on its X account and stated: “The continued expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory constitutes a blatant violation of international law as well as relevant UN Security Council resolutions.”
Two-state stakes and Gaza
Beyond the trade ban, the foreign ministers’ joint statements linked the measures to the two-state solution and called for Gaza to be treated as an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory.
“take “concrete steps” to end activities that support or contribute to the continuation of Israeli settlements”
They called for the “full and immediate implementation” of US President Donald Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, saying implementation should address humanitarian conditions, facilitate reconstruction and recovery, and lay the foundations for lasting peace.
The ministers reiterated that a two-state solution remained the only viable path to a just and lasting peace, calling for an independent, sovereign, contiguous and viable Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Arab News report said the ministers hoped the British move would mobilize other countries to take similar measures consistent with international law and take “concrete steps” to end activities that support or contribute to the continuation of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
In the same framing, Türkiye Today said the ministers cited the obligation of all states not to recognize as legal the situation arising from Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory and not to provide aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by that occupation.