Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has announced new UK sanctions targeting Israeli activity in the West Bank, accusing figures there of "ethnic cleansing" carried out by "terrorists" and unveiling plans to ban companies from helping build or sell properties in settlements deemed illegal under international law. The move, coordinated with 11 other countries including France and Canada, marks a significant escalation in the UK's stance towards Israel and has provoked a strong diplomatic backlash, most notably a decision by Israel to close the British consulate in East Jerusalem that had been accredited to the Palestinian Authority.

The sanctions form part of a wider international push against West Bank settlement expansion, though the exact scope of the corporate ban and how it will be enforced remains to be detailed. Israel's response—shutting the East Jerusalem consulate—signals a serious deterioration in relations between London and Jerusalem. The article itself is presented as a reader poll asking whether Labour was right to impose the sanctions, with results due to be published in a forthcoming newsletter.