Arab Nations Back UK Sanctions on Israeli Settlements

Eight Arab and Muslim-majority states, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, issued a joint statement on Wednesday endorsing British-led sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and urged other governments to adopt comparable measures in line with international law.

The statement, coordinated through Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry and signed by the foreign ministers of Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt, expressed the hope that the UK’s decision would catalyse broader international action to hold accountable both settlement organisations and individuals engaged in what the signatories described as illegal settlement activity. Kuwait and Yemen each issued separate statements in support, while the secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, endorsed the measures as necessary to protect the viability of a two-state solution.

The sanctions were announced on Tuesday by British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who accused the Israeli government of turning a “blind eye” to what he characterised as “ethnic cleansing” by settlers operating in the West Bank. Miliband, who described himself as “a proud Jew” in announcing the measures, declared that Britain could no longer limit itself to verbal condemnation and would instead act. The UK announced a prohibition on imports of goods produced in Israeli settlements, a measure France and Canada said they would also introduce at the national level.

A broader joint statement signed by twelve countries — the UK, France, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden — declared unconditional commitment to the two-state solution and pledged to introduce national trade restrictions or support EU-level measures targeting settlement goods deemed illegal under international law.

The foreign ministers who signed the joint Arab and Muslim statement also called for the full and immediate implementation of US President Donald Trump’s twenty-point plan for Gaza’s post-war future, and reiterated their backing for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem. The UAE’s participation is notable: it is a signatory to the Abraham Accords normalising relations with Israel.

Israel responded swiftly and sharply. Tel Aviv ordered the closure of the UK’s consulate in Jerusalem, announced the expulsion of British representatives monitoring the US-brokered ceasefire arrangement in Gaza, suspended British training programmes for Palestinian Authority security forces, and barred twelve British nationals — among them several members of parliament — from entering the country. Miliband described Israel’s response as “regrettable and damaging,” while asserting that intelligence and security cooperation between the two countries would not be affected.

Pakistan, one of the signatories to the joint statement, issued an additional national declaration affirming that the illegal settlements undermine the prospect of a two-state solution and expressing the hope that the sanctions would send an “unequivocal message of rejection” of unlawful activity in the occupied Palestinian territory. Islamabad reiterated its support for Palestinian self-determination.