ISLAMABAD: The UK government is preparing new restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move the government says is part of a broader reset of its policy toward Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to BBC News.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is expected to announce the measures in Parliament today (Sept 8). The restrictions could apply to agricultural products and other goods produced in Israeli settlements, as well as to services connected to settlement activity, according to British lawmakers briefed on the plans.
The government has not released full details of the measures, said the BBC in its report.
According to the BBC report, one British minister described the planned announcement as a “complete reset” of the UK-Israel and Israeli-Palestinian relationship, saying the measures would go beyond sanctions and form part of a wider effort to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law.
Illegal E1 plans could end two-state solution
The expected announcement comes after Israel opened tenders to build about 1,200 settlement homes in the E1 area east of Jerusalem. The strategically important zone has long been a focus of international opposition because development there could divide the West Bank and make the establishment of a viable Palestinian state more difficult.
The BBC report said that Miliband described the E1 plans in Parliament last week as illegal under international law and warned that they could threaten the viability of a future Palestinian state.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has also said the plans could “imperil or end” the two-state solution, which envisions an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital, existing alongside Israel, according to the BBC.
The British government, it reported, believes settlement expansion is undermining that possibility. The UK recognized a Palestinian state nearly a year ago under the previous government, saying it had a responsibility to support a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians.
Part of UK shift in approach to conflict
The planned trade restrictions would be largely symbolic because relatively few settlement-produced goods are imported into Britain. British officials, however, are expected to present the move as part of a broader shift in the country's approach to the conflict, the BBC reported.
It added that Stephen Doughty, Britain's Middle East minister, said in July that existing powers to restrict settlement-related activity were insufficient. He said Britain could currently impose sanctions when evidence linked individuals or entities to settler violence but lacked broader powers to target contractors and other businesses involved in settlement construction.
Israel has previously warned that it could retaliate against countries imposing new measures over settlement activity.
Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and damage to Palestinian property have increased since the war in Gaza began following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Despite the ceasefire that took effect on October 10, 2025, the Israeli army has killed 1,352 Palestinians and injured 4,511 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.