'Standing up for freedom': British politicians react to UK sanctions on Israeli settlements

Reactions by British politicians have been pouring in to the government's announcement of sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements.

Labour MPs broadly praised the new measures in parliament on Tuesday, while Green and independent MPs urged the government to go further. Meanwhile, the Conservative Party and Reform UK denounced the sanctions.

On Tuesday the government recognised the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, declared the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and announced both comprehensive sanctions on Israeli settlements and a ban on all arms licences and other exports that "materially contribute to the occupation".

France and Canada will also ban trade in settlement goods, marking a significant diplomatic victory for the British government.

Tom Tugendhat, the new shadow foreign secretary, criticised the new measures in parliament, saying: "This isn’t about Israel alone and it certainly isn’t about reducing the complexity of the region to a single sentence. Sadly, the government is in the process of doing just that."

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband hit back, saying: "The underlying problem of his position is this: he supports the two-state solution with great vigour. He believes in the two-state solution. He sees the two-state solution being destroyed before our eyes. And I’m afraid his prescription is to do nothing about it."

By contrast, Tory MP Edward Leigh, the father of the Commons, said: "What is happening in the West Bank is absolutely violent and egregious. It is worse than stopping the two-state solution, it is ethnic cleansing."

'I am proud to say, as the longest-serving member of the Conservative Friends of Israel, that I absolutely and fully support what he is doing today'

– Edward Leigh MP

Leigh added: "I am proud to say, as the longest-serving member of the Conservative Friends of Israel, that I absolutely and fully support what he is doing today, because it is about standing up for freedom, for morality, and justice of all people in this world."

Labour MP Abtisam Mohamed, who sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee and has been a prominent campaigner for a ban on trade with illegal settlements, praised the government's decision and asked if it continued to support the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants against Israeli ministers.

Miliband responded by praising Mohamed's work and said the government "absolutely" supports the ICC's work.

Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George said that apart from "Netanyahu's fan club", the whole house supported the government's decision.

And Labour MP Naz Shah said "today Britain has led", adding that she was "proud of the government".

Green Party Foreign Spokesperson Dr Ellie Chowns MP said: "The measures announced today mark a critical and overdue step towards upholding the UK’s obligations under international law – one which the Green Party has long fought for and strongly supports."

Chowns added: "Continuing military and intelligence cooperation with Israel while Palestinians are killed and denied lifesaving aid is a shameful failure to fulfil that duty. Ministers must take further action.

"That requires a full two-way arms embargo, wide-ranging sanctions, an end to military and intelligence cooperation, and withdrawal from the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement," she said.

"Existing export licences that sustain the occupation must be ended, and restrictions must cover F-35 components supplied through the international pool."

'Government must hold their nerve'

Former First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf welcomed the announcement as a "significant step in the right direction", but told Middle East Eye: "I listened carefully to what the foreign secretary said about arms sales to Israel, and I would urge him to go further and must end the supply of all weapons, arms and military components to Israel, including through the F-35 supply chain."

Yousaf added that the government should "extend sanctions to the ministers driving annexation, and it should declare Benjamin Netanyahu – a man subject to an ICC arrest warrant – persona non grata. Benjamin Netanyahu should not be welcome in the UK."

He further said: "I have no doubt there will be pressure from Washington and from the Israeli government to reverse course. The prime minister and foreign secretary must hold their nerve."

Meanwhile, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the government should end "all trade, all military co-operation, and all forms of support that sustain Israel’s unlawful presence as a whole.

"I also reiterate my demand for this government to recognise the genocide in Gaza, end all arms sales – including F-35 components – to Israel, and heed my repeated calls for a public inquiry into British complicity."

The most strident criticism of the government came from Richard Tice, Reform UK's deputy leader, who accused the British government of being "anti Jew" over the sanctions.

On Tuesday morning Tice posted on X: "Sanctions imposed by this hard left, anti Jew Burnham Govt against Israel" will "embolden antisemitic hate crimes in UK".

Middle East Eye revealed in August that Andy Burnham's government had decided to ban settlement goods.

Whitehall sources have told MEE that the measures announced on Tuesday should be understood as the start of a new approach to foreign policy, and are expected to be followed by further measures.

Burnham has not spoken to his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, since he became prime minister in July. He reportedly briefed President Donald Trump on his plans to introduce sanctions on Israel on Monday afternoon.

Downing Street has taken an unusually bold step in angering Washington by pressing ahead with announcing the sanctions.

The United States privately urged the British government not to go ahead with the measures, MEE understands. But France and Canada announcing sanctions is likely to make Britain's move more consequential by heaping international pressure on Israel over its settlement expansion.

The three countries acting together will further be perceived as a significant rebuke to US policy in the Middle East by historically close American allies.