By Alistair Smout
LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) - More than a third of lawmakers from Britain’s governing Labour Party signed a letter on Monday calling on the British government to end trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has had to balance Britain’s historic position as a close ally of Israel and the United States with pressure from within his centre-left party to take a firmer line over Israeli actions towards Palestinians.
“There is an urgent need for accountability and concrete consequences in response to Israel’s violations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are spiralling by the day,” said the letter. “We believe ending trade with settlements is a vital next step.”
It was signed by 137 Labour lawmakers, more than a third of the party’s 402 members of the 650-seat House of Commons.
Israel’s governing coalition has enabled a rapid expansion of settlements, with some ministers openly calling for the annexation of the West Bank, land that Israel captured in a 1967 war, where Palestinians hope for a state. Most countries consider settlements there a violation of international law.
Settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has also surged since the Gaza war began in October 2023.
Last year, Spain became the first EU country to announce a ban on imports of goods from Israeli settlements, and other European countries such as Ireland and the Netherlands are considering similar steps.
Asked about the letter and the call for a trade ban, a spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign Ministry did not comment directly but said Britain had “strongly and repeatedly condemned settler violence and the expansion of illegal settlements”.
“We continue to call on the Israeli authorities to clamp down on all those who are seeking to inflame tensions, and to tackle the unacceptable violence and destruction of property that is being committed by settler groups against Palestinian communities,” the spokesperson said.
Under Starmer, London has paused free trade talks with Israel, suspended some arms export licences and imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. Last year Britain joined allies including France and Canada in recognising a Palestinian state.
Britain has opposed a proposed new settlement known as E1, which would split the West Bank in two, and has joined allies in urging businesses not to bid for tenders to build it.
The Guardian newspaper reported late on Sunday that Britain was preparing new measures to deter companies from getting involved in the E1 settlement. The government said it would not comment on future sanctions plans.
(Reporting by Alistair SmoutEditing by Peter Graff)
