The UK foreign secretary Ed Miliband has announced plans to implement a trade ban on goods from unlawful Israeli settlements and take action regarding aid restrictions to Gaza. The move has drawn criticism from the US ambassador to Israel, who accused the British government of antisemitism, though Miliband is Jewish. Israeli officials have disputed claims about aid restrictions to Gaza.
Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the occupied territories, told the Guardian that while the settlement goods ban represents an important change in UK policy, it must be part of a comprehensive recalibration of Britain’s approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She referenced the 2024 International Court of Justice advisory opinion that found Israel’s presence in the occupied territories unlawful in its entirety, which she said creates binding obligations for third countries not to provide recognition, aid, or assistance to maintaining this presence.
Albanese cautioned that restricting only certain goods, such as agricultural products and cosmetics, would be insufficient since these represent only a fraction of the economic activity sustaining the occupation. She argued that a meaningful policy shift must extend to broader categories including services, arms licensing, intelligence cooperation, and military logistics. She warned that without such comprehensive measures, the changes would amount merely to a revision of communications strategy rather than a genuine recalibration of Britain’s relationship with the occupation.
Albanese highlighted the E1 settlement tender, scheduled to close in September before Israel’s elections on 27 October, as a critical test case. She stated the UK must address the project and warned against allowing construction to proceed through financing, insurance, and contractor involvement. She also called on Britain to join South Africa in cases before the ICJ and to issue guidance protecting UK-based firms from overcomplicating compliance with US sanctions targeting ICC officials and judges. According to Albanese, such sanctions have frozen accounts of individuals performing legitimate judicial functions or providing lawful evidence to international courts.
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