Israeli government responds to West Bank sanctions announcement by Britain

The Israeli government has responded to the UK’s announcement of sanctions against the West Bank by stating that it will close the British consulate in East Jerusalem, as well as removing British representatives from the International Gaza Support Centre.

Other measures announced by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in response to the British government’s announcement included the termination of British training for Palestinian Authority security forces, and the intention of denying entry into Israel to 12 MPs and anti-Israel activists. The dozen individuals in question are understood to include former Labour and currently independent MPs  Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, Labour MPs Diane Abbott, John McDonnell, Richard Burgon and Naz Shah, and all five of the Green party’s MPs. The only non-MP on the list is believed to be Fahad Ansari, the lawyer who represented Hamas in court earlier this year in its bid to have its designation as a terrorist organisation overturned.

The action by Israel came after the British government announced that it would be placing sanctions on West Bank goods, with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband saying that the government would now officially consider the Israeli occupation of the West Bank to be illegal under international law. Miliband, who emphasised his own Jewish background at the beginning of his statement to Parliament, also described the actions of Israelis in the West Bank as “ethnic cleansing” and suggested that Israel had carried out “war crimes” in Gaza.

In his response, Sa’ar referred to Milband’s accusations as “outrageous and false”, and described the sanctions as a ““blatant interference in the affairs of a sovereign state and in its election campaign.” He accused “a hostile Labour government” of “systematically acting against Israel, and it will leave us no choice but to respond to its hostile moves”.

The government’s announcement was condemned within the UK Jewish community. The Board of Deputies described how “announcing such measures during an already heated Israeli election – which has the potential to lead to considerable change to the situation in the West Bank and Gaza – risks perverse consequences which go against the UK’s stated objectives”. The Jewish Leadership Council described today’s announcement as “not about advancing peace or the two-state solution” but rather simply yielding to pressure from the most extreme elements of British society”.

Israel is due to hold its general election on 27 October, with polling previously suggesting that the current government coalition will be defeated.