LONDON: The UK government is working on plans to ban imports and exports involving Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Speaking before the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee on Wednesday, Trade Minister Chris Bryant said there was a “very strong” moral and legal case for prohibiting goods and services linked to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Such a move would mark a significant shift in government policy, after ministers previously said they were reviewing options but stopped short of backing a ban.
Bryant said officials from the Department for Business and Trade and the Foreign Office were examining how such a measure could be implemented, with ministers considering whether existing UK sanctions legislation could provide a legal basis, rather than having to introduce new laws.
“We’re trying to work in granular detail on what this would look like, and it could be that the sanctions legislation is the legal basis for the ban,” he said.
