UK, France, and Canada announce trade bans on Israeli settlement goods

On September 8, 2026, Britain, France, and Canada announced a coordinated trade ban on goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband stated that the measure aims to protect the two-state solution and halt settlement expansion. This move is part of a broader shift involving 12 nations, including Ireland, Spain, and Norway, which have signaled intent to restrict trade or support national measures due to rising settler violence and deteriorating conditions in the region.

In immediate retaliation, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar ordered the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem, which serves the Palestinian Authority. Israel also excluded Britain from a U.S.-led Gaza coordination mission and imposed entry bans on several British nationals, including MP Jeremy Corbyn. Saar, who coordinated the response with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, condemned the British move as interference in Israel’s upcoming late-October elections and dismissed allegations of ethnic cleansing as false. British diplomats associated with the Jerusalem consulate have been given 30 days to lose their accreditation, while those in Ramallah and the Gaza mission must leave within seven days.