Report: Britain Set to Ban Trade With Israeli Communities in Judea and Samaria

The British government is expected to announce tomorrow a ban on trade with Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, sources told the Jerusalem Post today (Monday). According to the report, the new package is expected to include a ban on bringing products made in these communities into Britain, alongside targeted sanctions against British organizations and individuals.

The announcement does not come as a complete surprise. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said as early as August 19 that he intended to introduce a broad range of measures in the coming weeks. Still, the timing of the announcement, just days before Rosh Hashanah, could prompt strong reactions among British Jews.

The measures are expected to be presented in the British Parliament in the afternoon. Earlier that day, at 9:30 a.m., a debate on the security of British Jews is expected to take place in Westminster Hall.

Britain’s Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, warned that the planned sanctions would be "unhelpful and could even endanger this vision for peace." He said that many in the community are receiving the move with deep concern and fear it could develop into a de facto boycott of Israel, while also harming the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Palestinian workers.

Mirvis added that "these measures will also have a disproportionate impact on British Jews, because of our close religious, family, philanthropic and educational ties with Israel."

Tom Tugendhat, the new shadow foreign secretary, also warned in an article published Sunday in the Telegraph of a deterioration in diplomatic relations with Israel. He said that harming ties with the Jewish state could also endanger British citizens. He noted that Britain’s security services had succeeded in thwarting terrorist attacks on British soil following intelligence information Israel provided to its British counterparts.

Further sharp criticism came from Jonathan Turner, CEO of UK Lawyers for Israel. He said, "We have shown that a blanket ban on the import into Britain of products made in Israeli communities in eastern Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria would conflict with World Trade Organization agreements, bilateral agreements between Britain and Israel, and European Union law, which continues to apply with regard to Northern Ireland."

Turner argued that the move could also harm Palestinians: "Such a ban would also be unhelpful, because it would damage the Palestinian economy and cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians."

He later sharply criticized British government policy: "However, the British government’s policy toward Israel is not driven by rational considerations, but by anger based on false stories about Israel, which they and their supporters naively believe. It appears that the situation in Britain is returning to the Middle Ages."