ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, along with seven other Muslim countries, on Wednesday welcomed the United Kingdom’s decision to ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying the illegal outposts undermine efforts toward a twostate solution.
The trade measures were imposed on Tuesday by Britain, Canada and France after British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accused the Israeli government of turning a ‘blind eye’ to ‘ethnic cleansing’ by settlers in the occupied West Bank.
A joint statement issued by Pakistan’s Foreign Office on behalf of the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE expressed hope that the international community would take similar action to ‘hold accountable settlement organisations and individuals engaged in illegal settlement activities’.
The ministers stated the ban aligns with international law, UN Security Council Resolution 2334 and the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 advisory opinion requiring states not to recognise or assist Israel’s unlawful occupation.
They also welcomed support from 12 European nations considering similar measures.
Reaffirming that the only viable path to peace is a two-state solution based on 1967 borders with Jerusalem as Palestine’s capital, the ministers emphasised that Gaza remains an integral part ofPalestinian territory.
In London, Prime Minister Andy Burnham defended his government’s decision before parliament on Wednesday, declaring that Britain had to ‘stand against injustice’.
Burnham, who took office in July, said Britain had long endorsed a two-state solution, but words needed to be backed by action.
‘Leadership is about taking action where there is injustice, where we need to correct unfairness, people being driven out of their homes,’ Burnham told lawmakers. ‘In this difficult and dangerous world, Britain has to stand for something.
He added to cheers from lawmakers: ‘We will always stand with the underdog and take whataction we can to support them.
That is leadership on the world stage, Britain being true to what it has always been about.
Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch wrote in the Sun newspaper that the Labour government was ‘putting its own party-political interests ahead of our national interest’, though she avoided the issue during questioning.
In response, Israel gave Britain a 30-day deadline to close its East Jerusalem consulate, which represents London on Palestinian issues.
Israel also barred 12 British politicians from visiting, ordered British officials in occupied West Bank and a Gaza coordination centre to leave, and halted British training for PalestinianAuthority security forces.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar denounced the sanctions as ‘morally distorted’ and a ‘blatant interference in the affairs of a sovereign state and its electoral process’.
In occupied West Bank, settler business owners warned the trade ban would dent revenues. Moses Gazi, a date farmer in Kibbutz Almog, said: ‘If I can’t sell my dates to Europe, I need to close the business. What are they going to do?’ Yaakov Berg, head of Psagot Winery, said: ‘Sometimes you suffer. That’s okay with us. We are not going to change the truth and who we are because of a few dollars.
Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary Miliband on Wednesday condemned Israel’s consulate closure as ‘regrettable and damaging’, rejecting suggestions that the dispute would undermine bilateral intelligence cooperation.
‘We have important intelligence and security relationships with Israel, and I’m confident they will continue,’ Miliband told BBC Radio, noting ongoing cooperation over threats from Iran.
Miliband also dismissed criticism from Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, who called the sanctions ‘little more than political flag-bearing’ and a ‘truly dark day for British Jews’.
In Washington, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would not join the sanctions, cautioning against ‘anything destabilising’, while US Ambassador Mike Huckabee accused London of ‘Jew hate’.
With input from Agencies