How has Israel hit back against sanctions by the UK, others?

Israel announced four countermeasures ranging from the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem to the banning of MPs from Israel.

An Israeli soldier stands at a winery facility in the illegal Israeli settlement of Sha'ar Binyamin in the occupied West Bank, southeast of Ramallah, on September 9, 2026 [AFP]

Israel has announced four retaliatory measures against the UK in response to its decision to ban the import of all goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, calling the move a “series of anti-Israel decisions by the Labour Government”.

On Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said in a speech to parliament that the rapid expansion of Israeli settlements across the occupied Palestinian territory was “unlawful” and accused Israel of carrying out “ethnic cleansing”. He also announced sanctions against companies providing services to illegal settlements as well as tougher new restrictions on arms exports to Israel.

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Twelve countries, including the UK, France, Canada, Spain and others, also shared a joint statement supporting a two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict and announced their plans to impose their own trade restrictions on Israeli settlements.

After Miliband’s speech, Israel announced four countermeasures against the UK, including the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said: “Accusations made today by the Foreign Secretary of the Labour Government in the British Parliament were outrageous lies.” He accused the UK of trying to interfere in Israeli elections, which are due in late October.

President Isaac Herzog said sanctions would prove to be a “grave miscalculation, a gross interference in the democratic elections of a sovereign nation, and a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history”.

Here’s what we know:

What four measures are being implemented against the UK?

The closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem within 30 days.

The removal of British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center located in Kiryat Gat, southern Israel.

The termination of British activities to train Palestinian Authority forces in the occupied West Bank under the “British Support Team in Ramallah”.

A ban on entry to Israel for 12 British MPs and other British nationals involved in “antisemitic and anti-Israel activity, as well as those who deny the very existence of the State of Israel”.

Saar said this response should be viewed as a message to every country, adding: “Whoever acts against Israel, Israel will act against them, and they will lose their influence and relevance in the region. Measures against Israel will not go unanswered.”

How important is the closure of the British consulate?

The British consulate in East Jerusalem focuses on the needs of British nationals in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

It was first opened in 1839 but closed in 1914 at the start of World War I. It was later re-established as a consulate-general in 1948 after the British Mandate in Palestine ended.

According to the British government website, the consulate provides assistance to British nationals in the Palestinian territory.

Meanwhile, the British embassy, where the British ambassador is based, is located in Tel Aviv.

With the UK recognising Palestinian statehood last year, the East Jerusalem consulate has functioned as its de facto embassy to Palestine.

This is a significant move because East Jerusalem, where the consulate is located, is considered Palestinian territory illegally occupied by Israel. By ordering its closure, Israel is reaffirming its position that the whole of Jerusalem is the undivided capital of Israel, analysts say.

“United Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and is under its full sovereignty,” Saar said. “Any foreign activity in the area must be conducted through accepted and agreed channels and without violating Israel’s sovereignty.”

What are the British Support Team and the International Gaza Support Centre?

For years, the UK has provided training to support PA security forces in managing tensions on the ground in the occupied West Bank.

According to a British government document from 2018, the team oversees the delivery of courses to security forces personnel in the occupied territory, ranging from conflict resolution to media skills.

At a basic level, terminating the support team in Ramallah would mean the PA forces lose British expertise.

On the removal of Britain from the United States-led International Gaza Support Center, which was set up to support a post-war Gaza, the biggest impact for the UK is that it no longer has direct influence in shaping the besieged enclave’s future.

Who has been banned from travelling to Israel?

Those banned from Israel are mostly left-wing parliamentarians, including:

Jeremy Corbyn MP – former Labour Party leader

Fahad Ansari, Director of Riverway to the Sea

Saar accused those denied entry to the country of being involved in “antisemitic and anti-Israel activity, as well as those who deny the very existence of the State of Israel”.

How has the UK responded?

On Wednesday morning, Miliband condemned Israel’s decision to close its consulate in Jerusalem, calling it “regrettable and damaging”.

“We anticipated this might happen because we saw other countries, the Dutch, for example, who had announced sanctions, who had seen these reprisals from Israel,” Miliband told the BBC.

“We have important intelligence and security relationships with Israel, and I’m confident they will continue,” he said, declining to elaborate.

“And I was very clear yesterday that we do believe in working with our Israeli partners when it comes to the threats they face from Iran,” he added.

What about other countries which signed the joint declaration?

So far, Israel has not applied any countermeasures against the other countries that have called on the Israeli government to stop the expansion of settlements.

Those countries include: France, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden.

以色列宣布了四项反制措施，包括关闭英国驻东耶路撒冷领事馆和禁止议员入境以色列。

2026年9月9日，一名以色列士兵站在位于拉马拉东南部的被占领西岸的非法以色列定居点沙尔·本雅明的一处酿酒厂内。[法新社]

以色列宣布对英国采取四项报复措施，以回应英国禁止进口所有在被占领的西岸以色列非法定居点生产的商品的决定，称此举是“工党政府的一系列反以色列决定”。

周二，英国外交大臣埃德·米利班德在议会发表讲话，称以色列在被占领的巴勒斯坦领土上迅速扩张定居点是“非法的”，并指责以色列实施“种族清洗”。他还宣布对向非法定居点提供服务的公司实施制裁，并对向以色列出口武器实施更严格的新限制。

（共3条） 美国加大制裁和封锁力度，伊朗药品短缺问题日益严重

列表 2/3：当今以色列“右”与“左”的含义

以色列三个政党提交了参加10月议会选举的候选人名单，名单如下：

包括英国、法国、加拿大、西班牙等在内的十二个国家也发表联合声明，支持以巴冲突的两国方案，并宣布计划对以色列定居点实施贸易限制。

米利班德发表讲话后，以色列宣布了针对英国的四项反制措施，其中包括关闭英国驻东耶路撒冷领事馆。

以色列外交部长吉迪恩·萨尔表示：“英国工党政府外交大臣今天在英国议会发表的指控是无稽之谈。”他指责英国试图干预将于10月下旬举行的以色列大选。

总统艾萨克·赫尔佐格表示，制裁将被证明是一个“严重的误判，是对一个主权国家民主选举的粗暴干涉，也是一个注定站在历史错误一边的决定”。

我们目前掌握的情况如下：

针对英国正在实施哪四项措施？

英国驻耶路撒冷领事馆将在30天内关闭。

英国代表撤离位于以色列南部基里亚特加特的国际加沙支持中心。

英国终止了在被占领的西岸地区以“拉马拉英国支援小组”名义训练巴勒斯坦权力机构部队的活动。

以色列禁止 12 名英国议员和其他参与“反犹太主义和反以色列活动，以及否认以色列国存在的”英国国民入境。

萨尔表示，这一回应应被视为向所有国家发出的警告，并补充道：“任何对以色列采取行动的国家，以色列都将予以反击，它们将失去在该地区的影响力和地位。针对以色列的措施不会得不到任何回应。”

关闭英国领事馆有多重要？

英国驻东耶路撒冷领事馆主要关注被占领的约旦河西岸和加沙地带的英国公民的需求。

它最初于 1839 年开放，但在 1914 年第一次世界大战爆发时关闭。后来，在英国对巴勒斯坦的托管结束后，它于 1948 年重新设立为总领事馆。

根据英国政府网站的信息，该领事馆向在巴勒斯坦领土上的英国公民提供援助。

与此同时，英国大使馆（英国大使所在地）位于特拉维夫。

自英国去年承认巴勒斯坦建国以来，东耶路撒冷领事馆实际上已成为英国驻巴勒斯坦大使馆。

此举意义重大，因为领事馆所在的东耶路撒冷被认为是巴勒斯坦领土，被以色列非法占领。分析人士指出，以色列下令关闭领事馆，重申了其立场，即整个耶路撒冷是以色列不可分割的首都。

萨尔说：“统一的耶路撒冷是以色列的首都，完全处于以色列的主权之下。任何外国在该地区的活动都必须通过公认的渠道进行，且不得侵犯以色列的主权。”

英国支援小组和国际加沙支援中心是什么？

多年来，英国一直为巴勒斯坦权力机构安全部队提供培训，以帮助他们应对被占领的西岸地区的紧张局势。

根据英国政府 2018 年的一份文件，该团队负责监督向被占领土上的安全部队人员提供课程，课程内容涵盖冲突解决和媒体技能等。

从根本上讲，解散驻拉马拉的支援小组意味着巴勒斯坦权力机构部队将失去英国的专业技术。

英国退出由美国领导的国际加沙支持中心（该中心旨在支持战后加沙），对英国最大的影响是它不再对塑造这个被围困飞地的未来拥有直接影响力。

哪些人被禁止前往以色列？

被禁止入境以色列的人士大多是左翼议员，其中包括：

杰里米·科尔宾议员——前工党领袖

法哈德·安萨里，《通往海洋的河流》导演

萨尔指责那些被拒绝入境的人参与“反犹太主义和反以色列活动，以及否认以色列国存在的人”。

英国方面是如何应对的？

周三上午，米利班德谴责以色列关闭其驻耶路撒冷领事馆的决定，称其“令人遗憾且具有破坏性”。

“我们预料到这种情况可能会发生，因为我们看到其他国家，例如荷兰，已经宣布了制裁，并看到了以色列的这些报复行动，”米利班德告诉BBC。

“我们与以色列有着重要的情报和安全关系，我相信这些关系将会继续下去，”他说道，但拒绝进一步解释。

“我昨天已经非常明确地表示，我们相信在应对以色列面临的来自伊朗的威胁方面，我们应该与以色列伙伴合作，”他补充道。

其他签署联合声明的国家呢？

到目前为止，以色列尚未对其他呼吁以色列政府停止扩建定居点的国家采取任何反制措施。

这些国家包括：法国、加拿大、丹麦、西班牙、芬兰、爱尔兰、冰岛、挪威、波兰、葡萄牙和瑞典。