UK to announce trade ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements

UK to announce trade ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband arrives to attend a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street in London, September 8, 2026 [Isabel Infantes/Reuters]

The United Kingdom will announce a trade ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, a government minister said, according to British media reports.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is expected to present measures against the expansion of settlements to Parliament on Tuesday, Pensions Minister Pat McFadden said.

“The reason that danger has become more urgent is because of expanded settlement activity in recent weeks and months,” he told Times Radio.

Israel in August opened bidding for 1,234 housing units in its E1 project , a controversial settlement plan that would link settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, which Israel has already illegally annexed, to the Maale Adumim settlement bloc in the West Bank.

Palestinians have warned that advancing the plans would lead to confining Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to “disconnected enclaves surrounded by settlements”.

McFadden did not share details on how a UK ban on settlement goods would be enforced. He said settlement growth in recent weeks and months had made the threat to Palestinian statehood more urgent, but that Israel remained an important trading partner.

“This isn’t intended to be a boycott of all Israeli goods,” he told Sky News.

The move also follows weeks of escalating settler pogroms on Palestinian villages, some drawing rare criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the United States ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee.

However, Netanyahu has previously said he will keep expanding illegal settlements, despite international pressure.

More than 140 Labour MPs have called for a ban on trade with Israeli firms operating in the occupied West Bank, with significant public support for the measure.

On Monday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took office in July, spoke to US President Donald Trump to stress the importance of a two-state solution.

The UK recognised Palestinian statehood one year ago, under Burnham’s predecessor, Keir Starmer.

Huckabee rejects ban

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee criticised the reports and said a ban would be an “irrational action”.

“I feel like that it’s a discrimination against the Israeli government,” he told BBC Radio. “It’s discrimination against the Jewish people and I don’t understand the rationale of it.

“And I realise – look, the UK is a sovereign country, they can do what they want, but so is the US,” he added.

Huckabee has previously expressed support for settlements .

More than 500,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, which is home to some three million Palestinians.

英国将宣布禁止从被占领的西岸以色列非法定居点进口商品。

2026年9月8日，英国外交大臣埃德·米利班德抵达伦敦唐宁街10号，出席内阁会议。[伊莎贝尔·因凡特斯/路透社]

据英国媒体报道，一位政府部长表示，英国将宣布禁止从被占领的西岸以色列非法定居点进口商品。

养老金大臣帕特·麦克法登表示，外交大臣埃德·米利班德预计将于周二向议会提出反对扩大遗产分配的措施。

“危险变得更加紧迫的原因是，近几周和几个月来，定居点活动不断扩大，”他告诉时代电台。

以色列于 8 月开始招标其 E1 项目中的 1234 套住房单元。E1 是一个备受争议的定居点计划，旨在将以色列已经非法吞并的被占领东耶路撒冷的定居点与西岸的马阿勒阿杜明定居点群连接起来。

巴勒斯坦人警告说，推进这些计划将导致被占领的西岸地区的巴勒斯坦人被限制在“被定居点包围的孤立飞地”中。

麦克法登没有透露英国将如何执行对定居点商品的禁令。他表示，近几周和几个月来定居点的扩张使巴勒斯坦建国面临的威胁更加紧迫，但以色列仍然是一个重要的贸易伙伴。

“这并非意在抵制所有以色列商品，”他告诉天空新闻。

此前数周，定居者对巴勒斯坦村庄的迫害不断升级，其中一些迫害事件罕见地招致了以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡和美国驻以色列大使迈克·赫卡比的批评。

然而，内塔尼亚胡此前曾表示，尽管面临国际压力，他仍将继续扩大非法定居点。

超过 140 名工党议员呼吁禁止与在被占领的西岸地区运营的以色列公司进行贸易，这一措施得到了公众的广泛支持。

周一，7 月上任的总理安迪·伯纳姆与美国总统唐纳德·特朗普通话，强调了两国方案的重要性。

英国在伯纳姆的前任基尔·斯塔默执政期间，于一年前承认了巴勒斯坦建国。

哈克比拒绝禁令

美国驻以色列大使迈克·赫卡比批评了这些报道，并表示禁令将是“不理智的行为”。

“我觉得这是对以色列政府的歧视，”他告诉BBC广播电台。“这是对犹太人的歧视，我不明白这种做法的理由。”

“而且我意识到——你看，英国是一个主权国家，他们可以做任何他们想做的事，但美国也是如此，”他补充道。

哈克比此前曾表示支持和解协议。

超过 50 万以色列人居住在被占领的西岸的非法定居点中，而西岸是大约 300 万巴勒斯坦人的家园。