FO welcomes UK’s steps against Israel as ‘clear rejection of illegal actions’ in occupied Palestine

Pakistan on Wednesday welcomed the decision announced by the United Kingdom to impose a ban on items originating from the illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied West Bank, the Foreign Office (FO) said.

In a statement on X, the FO stated that the continued expansion of illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory “constitutes a blatant violation of international law as well as relevant UN Security Council resolutions”, adding that such illegal actions were undermining international efforts aimed at achieving a “two-state solution as well as peace and stability in the region”.

It added that Pakistan also welcomed the announcement by several other countries, including Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden, to consider similar measures and support such efforts against the illegal Israeli settlements.

Read: UK, France and Canada sanction Israeli West Bank settlements, in support for two-state solution

The FO further said that Pakistan hoped that these measures would send a “clear and unequivocal message of rejection of illegal actions” in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The statement noted that Pakistan had been and would continue to stand by the people of Palestine in their “just struggle for self-determination” and continue to support all efforts aimed at the establishment of a “sovereign, independent, and contiguous Palestinian state” based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

On ​Tuesday, the UK announced a trade ban on goods made in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank in coordination with France and ‌Canada, the latest sanctions to target Israel as it faced growing diplomatic isolation.

British Foreign Minister Ed Miliband said Britain could no longer simply “call out” injustice and suffering, but told the House of Commons that the country now had to “act” to oppose the expansion of settlements.

Read More: ‘West Bank facing systematic ethnic cleansing’

“Today we refuse to be bystanders to further suffering and to the ​destruction of the two-state solution,” Miliband said, referring to Britain’s long-held support for the two-state idea, which Israel opposes.

Miliband, who became Britain’s foreign minister in July, also said Britain’s position was that the occupation in the West Bank was unlawful, and ​that London believed that there was ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank.

The impact on the £6 billion ($8.12 billion) of annual bilateral ​trade was likely to be minimal, with details unclear on how the UK would differentiate between goods originating in West Bank settlements and products made in Israel.

Meanwhile, 12 countries also announced plans to introduce national restrictions on trade in goods with Israeli settlements that were illegal under international law.