Statement on new British sanctions on West Bank settlements

UK Friends of Standing Together welcomes the new British sanctions on West Bank settler organisations and individuals announced by the Foreign Secretary on 9 June.

The government rightly recognises that the Netanyahu government and settler movement are co-ordinating efforts to ‘bury’ any prospect of Palestinian statehood, through settler terror, new settlements and ongoing ethnic cleansing.

UKFoST believes the occupation can only be ended through fundamental political change. That’s why we’re determined to help groups like Standing Together to oppose the occupation.

UKFoST works to practically support Standing Together in building Palestinian–Jewish co-resistance, from Khan al-Ahmar, a Bedouin–Palestinian village in the West Bank subject to an expulsion order, to the Old City on ‘Jerusalem Day’ when extremist settlers every year violently attack Palestinian residents. And we welcome British-led international support for grassroots peacebuilding.

But our government can do more. It’s time to ban trade with illegal settlements. That will help to put the occupation back at the centre of Israeli discourse, helping anti-occupation forces within Israel make their case to the public.

A settlement trade ban is the logical conclusion of government policy, and has wide parliamentary and public support. Britain recognises a Palestinian state on land the Israeli government and settlers want to annex. 238 MPs already have publicly called for a trade ban. This follows letters of 7 June (signed by 140 MPs), 14 April (signed by 47 MPs and led by Nadia Whittome, a Parliamentary Friend of Standing Together), 3 March (signed by 119 MPs and peers), the report of the Foreign Affairs Committee of July 2025, our own campaign, ‘Support Peace, Sanction Settlements’, and bans or government-backed bills in Norway, the Netherlands, Ireland and Spain.

We call for settlement sanctions because we believe they will help to secure peace, equality, justice and self-determination for both peoples. That is the only path to safety for Israelis and Palestinians alike.