Trade minister gives clearest indication yet Burnham government WILL ban settlement trade

Trade minister Chris Bryant has given the strongest indication yet that an Andy Burnham-led government WILL bring in laws to ban imports and exports to Israeli settlements considered illegal under UK law.

Under Keir Starmer, the government had said it was reviewing all options but had stopped short of fully endorsing a ban, with officials citing concerns over how any measures could be implemented.

But on Wednesday, Bryant said there was a “very strong” moral and legal argument for such a prohibition.

The minister also confirmed the Department for Business and Trade and the Foreign Office were working on a full ban, adding, “we’ve been doing the work on precisely how this would work”.

Confirmation of the proposed settlement trade ban will provoke a furious response from some communal organisations, with both the Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies expected to raise serious concerns.

But the communal organisation Yachad has been at the forefront of the push to get MPs from across all political parties to support a settlement trade ban.

During a debate in the Commons last Thursday in which MPs pressed the government for an immediate ban on Israeli West Bank settlement imports, Yachad’s support for the move was mentioned directly by three MPs.

Westminster sources have confirmed to Jewish News that there would likely be “overwhelming” support for a settlement trade ban from MPs on all sides of the Commons, with fierce opposition likely only from the Tory frontbench and from Reform UK.

A small group of Labour MPs are ready to oppose the move, alongside a larger group of Tories, but they are likely to be easily outnumbered on the issue in any Commons vote.

The Lib Dems have long called for a full ban on settlement trade.

The Board has previously weighed in strongly against efforts to boycott Israel, arguing in a 2017 report that “to hasten a solution to the settlements would be to assist the chances of negotiations through promoting peace, rather than the problematic boycott campaign.”

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis is also known to oppose introducing any settlement ban, and could even make an intervention on the issue.

Jewish News understands that Israeli embassy officials in London have already begun to argue that the proposals fail to take into account the complicated geography on the ground in the region.

Earlier this month, Middle East minister Hamish Falconer also noted that British Jewish leaders are urging against an import ban, with concerns raised about potential issues around prayer at the Western Wall.

“There are legitimate and reasonable concerns from the British Jewish community that if we were to take steps which were crude, which were untargeted, could have unintended consequences on the lives of the community who are already under considerable pressure,” he said. “I do take that seriously for obvious reasons.”

Opponents of the ban will also argue there is a fundamental difference between settlements such as Ma’ale Adumim, which they say has grown to be a suburb of Jerusalem, with geographical, economic, and planning linkages that integrate the settlement into the city’s metropolitan fabric, and illegal outposts, which are unsanctioned Israeli communities in the West Bank.

These outposts are considered illegal under both Israeli and international law, as they are frequently constructed on private Palestinian land.

West Bank settlements are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens – mostly Jewish – in the Palestinian territory. It is estimated that there are about 130 settlements approved by Israel’s government in the West Bank, home to over 400,000 people.

On Wednesday, Bryant said the government was keen for the embargo to cover services trade.

In particular, he was concerned about companies in the UK possibly providing mortgages for people building in the illegal settlements, acting as estate agents for properties there, or providing accountancy or legal services to the areas.

But he also acknowledged that there were difficulties in creating a workable ban.

Bryant added it would be “better” than having to rely on new legislation, which “could take some considerable period of time and might get delayed”.

“We’re trying to work in granular detail on what this would look like, and it could be that the sanctions legislation is the legal basis for the ban.”

Jewish News understands foreign office officials have been working on what they believe to be a workable plan.

And while they received pushback under Starmer over concerns about how the ban would work, discussions with “Team Burnham” on how the ban would be implemented have proved far more fruitful.

Earlier this month, the MP Matt Western asked an urgent question in the Commons about the proposed E1 settlement project, in which he also spoke of joining Conservative, Labour and other MPs on a fact-finding mission organised by Yachad

Under UK law, Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem, are considered illegal.

This position is based on the interpretation of international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the transfer of an occupying power’s civilian population into the territory it occupies.

As a result, the UK government does not recognise the legitimacy of Israeli settlements and distinguishes them from Israel’s internationally recognised territory.

Outposts, which are smaller and often built without official Israeli government approval, are considered illegal not only under international law but also under Israeli law.

These outposts are typically constructed on private Palestinian land and lack formal authorisation from Israeli authorities.

The UK explicitly regards both settlements and outposts as obstacles to peace and opposes trade with them, although a formal ban has not yet been enacted.

In America, the Trump administration has come about against Ireland’s bill to ban settlement trade.

A State Department spokesperson said: “The US government firmly opposes this effort and rejects any efforts to economically isolate, or discriminate against, Israel. Such initiatives subvert US interests in the region and undermine the prospects for peace.”