West Bank · 09 September, 2026 · 3 min read
Israel Orders Closing of British Consulate in Jerusalem After UK Settlement Import Ban
Britain bans imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Israel closes the British consulate in Jerusalem in retaliation.
Whether the UK calls settler violence "ethnic cleansing".
2 of 3 outlets skipped it: israel bans entry to UK politicians including Jeremy Corbyn and others.
BBC was read line by line by the Watchdog: 5.8. See the score →
381outlets compared
Same story, two versions
tap a side to read it in full
20Minutos
“criticized the British government's decision for being a "grave interference in the Israeli electoral process"”
Translated from the original.
Read the original ↗ABC
“Miliband stated that the British government believes there is “ethnic cleansing” in some areas of the West Bank”
Translated from the original.
Read the original ↗20Minutos and ABC foreground the reciprocity and deterrence language, while ABC more strongly repeats Miliband’s "ethnic cleansing" attribution.
UK bans settlement imports
The United Kingdom announced it would ban imports of products from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and introduce a new comprehensive sanctions regime with exemptions for religious reasons, as Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband argued before Parliament on Tuesday.
““I can announce that we will introduce a prohibition on importing products from illegal settlements in the occupied territories.”
In a joint statement, 12 countries including the United Kingdom, France and Canada said the situation in the West Bank was deteriorating rapidly and cited “the inadmissible decision to publish tenders for the E1 settlement project,” while insisting they intended to impose national restrictions on trade in goods with illegal settlements in accordance with International Law.
Israel responded by ordering the closing of the British General Consulate in Jerusalem as part of a package of four “countermeasures,” with Foreign Minister Gideon Saar saying the closure was announced after London restricted trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Saar also said Israel would withdraw UK representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat, end British security forces training activities for the Palestinian Authority, and ban entry to twelve people including Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.
The Palestinian Authority welcomed the announcement by 12 countries including France and the UK, with Mahmoud Abbas’s office calling it “an important step” toward holding the settlement system accountable.
Herzog and Abbas react
Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the UK-led restrictions, calling them “a grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history,” and warning they would be “a serious interference in the democratic elections of a sovereign nation.”
In the same context, the Palestinian Authority’s office said the measures were “an important practical step toward holding the settlement system accountable and demonstrating non-recognition of the unlawful situation created by the occupation.”
Aajil reported that France decided to ban the import of all products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, linking the move to “weeks of escalating violence by Israeli settlers in Palestinian villages in the West Bank.”
The AAPNews account said Israel framed its consulate closure as retaliation for plans by the UK, France and Canada to block imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and quoted Saar calling the British move “morally distorted.”
Aajil also said the British government had indicated its intention to impose new sanctions on settlements in the West Bank, in line with Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s stance on the occupation.
Consulate closure and next steps
Beyond the trade bans, Israel said it would also withdraw British representatives from the Civic-Military Coordination Center for Gaza (CMCC) and ban British authorities training forces of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, as Gideon Saar announced a series of “countermeasures” on Tuesday.
“Finally, he announced a ban on British authorities training forces of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.”
The ABC account said Israel’s measures extended to British cooperation related to Gaza and the Palestinian Authority, including ending British security forces training activities for the Palestinian Authority and banning entry to twelve people, including eleven lawmakers.A
The ABC also reported that the UK’s sanctions regime would target illegal settlements and their expansion, not Israel, while Miliband said the British government believes there is “ethnic cleansing” in some areas of the West Bank perpetrated by “terrorist settlers.”A
In parallel, the A News | Other report said foreign ministers of Türkiye, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates welcomed the UK decision to ban imports of goods from illegal Israeli settlements and restrict services linked to such settlements.
The same report said the ministers cited UN Security Council Resolution 2334 and the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion of July 19, 2024, and reiterated their call for Israel to rescind measures connected to settlement activities and other steps aimed at altering the geographic and demographic character of the occupied Palestinian territory.