The UK, alongside France, Spain, Canada and eight other countries, has banned trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, prompting a furious response from Israel and pushing relations between the two countries to their lowest point in decades. Israel closed the UK's consulate in East Jerusalem and removed British representatives from the International Gaza Support Centre, signalling how deeply the move has rattled Israeli officials, even though goods from settlements form only a small share of Israel's exports.

The measures, announced by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, ban not only settlement products but also companies providing construction, infrastructure or finance to settlements, plus restrictions on arms sales linked to the occupation. They follow Britain's acceptance of the 2024 International Court of Justice ruling that the occupation is unlawful. Describing himself as a "proud British Jew" who remains supportive of Israel, Miliband spoke unusually bluntly, accusing settlers of "rampant" terrorism and "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians in parts of the West Bank while accusing the Israeli government of turning a blind eye. Six people, including three schoolchildren, have been killed this year in settler-related violence in the village of al-Mughayyir, amid a wider surge in such attacks.