Overview
- The United Kingdom, Canada, France, Norway, Australia and New Zealand announced coordinated sanctions that target individuals, groups and companies accused of financing or enabling violence by settlers in the West Bank, with measures announced on Tuesday.
- The UK for the first time will explicitly advise businesses to avoid economic and financial activity in settlements and has designated six entities and one individual for asset freezes and travel restrictions, including groups named by ministers such as the Farms Association and Ari Artzenu.
- France separately barred Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entry and placed visa bans on several settler leaders and settlers while Canada listed two people and five entities in its new round of sanctions.
- Nearly 137–140 Labour MPs have written to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper pressing for a full ban on trade with settlements, increasing domestic pressure on the government to move from targeted sanctions to broader import restrictions.
- Supporters cite the International Court of Justice’s 2024 advisory opinion and past UK precedents for restricting ties to occupied territory while Israel’s foreign ministry condemned the steps as politically driven and warned of diplomatic repercussions.