Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, called on the UK Government to end all trade, diplomatic, and economic relations with Israel, according to an interview published by The Guardian.
The demand comes as Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband prepares what he termed a “comprehensive reset” of UK policy towards Israel. British officials are reportedly weighing a ban on trade originating from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank alongside measures to prevent British firms from financing, constructing, or advertising new settlement infrastructure.
Legal Obligations and the International Court of Justice
Barghouti argued that partial sanctions targeting individual settlement products or specific Israeli ministers amount to a “smoke and mirrors cop-out and distraction” from wider British support. Speaking to The Guardian, he pointed to the July 2024 International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion, which declared Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, illegal under international law.
“Dozens of UN human rights experts have said to fulfil those obligations a set of minimal steps are required: a full military embargo, export import, dual-use transfer and transit,” Barghouti said. He added that the January 2024 ICJ provisional measures establishing a plausible risk of genocide under the Genocide Convention triggered explicit responsibilities for third-party states to halt all forms of complicity.
Political Strains Over West Bank Settlements
The policy discussions inside Westminster arrive amid heightened tensions over Israeli settlement plans. Andy Burnham recently warned that Israeli decisions regarding the E1 settlement could permanently extinguish the prospect of a two-state solution. The UK Government has condemned the E1 plans as illegal under international law because development there would physically sever the West Bank from East Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, the United States is closely monitoring potential British moves to sanction illegal Israeli settlements, according to The Times. In response to potential British punitive measures, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned that Israel would “act against Britain” if London implements sanctions targeting settlement expansion, as reported by The Independent.
Practical Challenges of Settlement Bans
Barghouti dismissed proposed UK restrictions on settlement goods as practically ineffective, asserting that years of de facto annexation by Israel make it nearly impossible to distinguish between businesses operating inside Israel proper and those tied to occupied territories. “They have no concrete effect in holding Israel to account or pressuring it to comply with international law,” Barghouti told The Guardian. The UK currently maintains billions of pounds in contracts with firms tied to illegal Israeli settlements, according to Al Jazeera.
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