WorldCanada, Britain and France say they will ban the trade of goods with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The U.K. is going a step further by implementing fresh sanctions and saying it will take additional action against companies and individuals that support settlement expansion.Israel to close British consulate in East Jerusalem in response to joint trade measuresAnna Cunningham · CBC News · Posted: Sep 08, 2026 2:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: September 8Listen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.An Israeli settler works at a winery at the settlement of Yitzhar in the occupied West Bank, south of the Palestinian city of Nablus, on Tuesday. The U.K. government says it will implement a comprehensive trade ban and targeted sanctions on goods and services from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. (Getty Images)In a packed British Parliament Tuesday, MPs gathered to listen to the government reset its relationship with Israel. Nodding alongside his cabinet ministers, Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who came to power seven weeks ago, listened intently as his equally new Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, himself Jewish, announced a ban on settler trade from the occupied West Bank. He said Canada and France would take similar actions. "Today, France and Canada are announcing alongside Britain that they will also ban the import of goods from illegal settlements," Miliband said.Cheers echoed through the parliamentary chamber. Miliband noted the three countries are not alone in taking action against Israel's continued expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank."The Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway, which have either banned goods or are in the process of doing so, with many other countries, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden, [are] pledging today they will support further action."Miliband said the U.K. will also take action "against specific companies and individuals who provide services such as construction, infrastructure, financing or real estate for settlement expansion."U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband arrives for a weekly government cabinet meeting at Downing Street on Tuesday in London, England. (Getty Images)To another loud round of cheers, he said: "You will face the full force of U.K. sanctions."Miliband said the U.K.'s action was coming now because Israel had crossed a "long-term red line," in reference to its recent announcement that it had opened tenders for construction of 1,200 settler homes in an area known as E1 in the occupied West Bank.As Canada recognizes a Palestinian state, some in the West Bank fear it's too lateThe United Nations and most countries deem the settlements illegal under Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention pertaining to military occupations. Israel rejects this, viewing the area as disputed rather than occupied. A drone view shows a factory belonging to Israeli company Libi Construction and Infrastructure in Shilo, an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, on April 30. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)September marks a year since Canada, the U.K. and France recognized the state of Palestine. In a joint statement, Prime Minister Mark Carney, along with his British and French counterparts, said "the time has come to take further action."The leaders emphasized their "unwavering commitment to Israel's security," adding that "we support a safe and secure Israel, living alongside a safe and secure Palestine." Their focus on preserving a two-state solution, the statement says, remains "critical for peace, stability and security in the Middle East and beyond." In explaining the decision to impose sanctions, Carney, Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron said the "systematic settlement expansion in the West Bank, including the government of Israel's latest decision to progress the E1 settlement, as well as the dramatic increase in settler violence, pose a direct and urgent threat to that vision for peace."Israeli settler blockades part of escalating violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bankthe fifth estateCanadian charities complicit in helping fund Israeli settlement movement in West Bank, critics sayCanadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand issued a joint statement Tuesday along with foreign ministers from the U.K., France and nine other European countries. "Together, we are resolute: the two-state solution must be protected," their statement said.In a post on social media, Anand said that in the coming months, Canada will "introduce restrictions on trade in goods with settlements in the West Bank that are illegal under international law." WATCH | the fifth estate goes to the West Bank to follow charitable donations:Funding the OccupationOctober 17, 2025|Duration 45:10We’re in the occupied West Bank on the trail of millions in tax deductible charitable donations sent to support Israeli settlements deemed illegal under international law. Canada calls the expansion of settlements a barrier to Palestinian statehood.A sharp rise in reported violence in the occupied West Bank was another reason the U.K. had decided on sanctions, Miliband said."The British government," Miliband told parliamentarians, "agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists."Israel undertakes countermeasuresIsraeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar accused his British counterpart of "outrageous lies" and announced the immediate closure of the U.K.'s consulate in East Jerusalem. Among other countermeasures, Sa'ar said Israel would expel U.K. representatives from a joint military centre monitoring the Gaza ceasefire and end U.K. training of the Palestinian Authority's security forces in the West Bank. In addition, Israel will prevent entry into the country of 12 elected U.K. officials, as well as other British citizens Sa'ar said were "involved in antisemitic and anti-Israel activity."The British consulate in East Jerusalem is shown on Tuesday. Israel has ordered the closure of the consulate after London led Western sanctions over violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images)Jewish leaders condemn actionsJewish leaders in Canada and Britain condemned the actions taken by the U.K., Canada, France and other European countries. Noah Shack, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, a Canadian Jewish advocacy organization, said in a statement that the Canadian government has "chosen to follow the United Kingdom's lead, in a move reportedly driven by domestic political considerations to appease the most extreme elements of society."The U.K.'s chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, said it was "truly a dark day for British Jews." The Board of Deputies of British Jews expressed its concern "with communal security at their highest" as the Jewish New Year festival of Rosh Hashanah approaches. One U.K. Labour MP, Peter Prinsley, vice-chair of the Labour Friends of Israel group, said there is "a real risk of increased chances of attacks on the British Jewish community."WATCH | Condemnation from the U.S. ambassador:U.S. ambassador condemns Israeli settlers' siege of Palestinian homes in West BankAugust 13|Duration 2:04The violent behaviour of Israeli settlers besieging Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank has drawn a rare rebuke from U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.The official Palestinian news agency issued a statement saying it welcomed "the determination of these countries," adding that the escalation of Israeli settlements was a "flagrant violation of international law."In Washington, D.C., U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters the White House had no comment on the joint action but added "obviously we're not going to do what the U.K. did."The seeds of change in the U.K.'s relationship with Israel were evident months ago. In the days before Burnham became prime minister in July, he indicated a reset. He apologized for the governing Labour Party's initial response to Israel's military action in Gaza, saying the party "didn't get it right" and under his leadership needs to "do better." ABOUT THE AUTHORAnna Cunningham is a freelance correspondent in London, England. She has reported for the CBC since 2009, and was previously based in Mumbai, Paris and Lagos, Nigeria.With files from The Associated Press and Reuters