STORY
Israel has strongly criticised Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband after he accused the Israeli Government of allowing the “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar described the accusation as an “outrageous lie” and called the British sanctions against settlement activity “morally distorted”. Miliband made the comments while announcing the measures in the House of Commons.
The UK measures include prohibiting imports from Israeli settlements and restricting services connected with their construction, infrastructure, financing and sale. Israel maintains that the sanctions unfairly target the country and amount to interference before its forthcoming general election. The UK regards Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank as unlawful and says their continuing expansion threatens the possibility of a Palestinian state.
Israel has responded by ordering the closure of the British Consulate General in Jerusalem, removing Britain from a United States led Gaza coordination mission and ending British involvement in training Palestinian security personnel. It has also announced entry bans against 12 British nationals, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Miliband said he regretted the Israeli response but defended the sanctions, arguing that the Government could not ignore rising settler violence and displacement.