Israel Eyes Response to Countries Backing Sanctions on Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria

Israel’s government is expected to announce soon what steps it will take against the countries that joined Britain’s decision to impose sanctions on Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Foreign Ministry officials said so today (Wednesday).

Israel’s first response will be directed at France, which was the first to support the British government’s decision and announced that it would act similarly. Kan News reported that Israel’s government is preparing to declare a series of countermeasures and sanctions targeting France.

As a reminder, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced last night that the operations of the British headquarters in Kiryat Gat would be canceled and that its consular office in eastern Jerusalem would be closed. Britain was also barred from continuing its training and instruction of Palestinian Authority forces.

Sa’ar told the British last night: "The Labor Party’s move is especially absurd in light of the British government’s Balfour Declaration, which officially recognized the right of the Jewish people to establish the State of Israel in the Land of Israel, including Judea and Samaria. We did not return to our land after 2,000 years in order to lose it to Islamist jihadists. The Palestinians, too, will be directly harmed by your actions."

The countries that joined and supported the British declaration are: France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.