Report: UK may impose trade embargo on settlements tomorrow; Smotrich, Ben Gvir urge far-reaching responses

The New York Times reports that the UK could implement a widely reported ban on trade with Israeli West Bank settlements as early as tomorrow.

Reports last month indicated that British Prime Minister Andy Burnham was preparing to announce a full trade embargo on all settlements in response to Jerusalem’s plans for a major, controversial settlement expansion in the hot-button E1 area of the West Bank, which would block territorial contiguity between major Palestinian population centers.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband later told lawmakers that he was planning a “comprehensive set of measures” against Israel in response to the E1 plan, but stopped short of announcing a complete trade ban on settlement goods.

Now, however, the New York Times reports that the trade embargo is indeed still on the table and is expected to be announced on Tuesday.

Citing anonymous officials, the report says that sanctions may also be imposed on companies that work on settlement construction.

In response to the report, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calls to expel the British ambassador from Israel.

“We will not be a doormat for an antisemitic government in a country occupied by radical Islam that is trying to escape economic and social collapse by attacking Jews and the State of Israel,” the Religious Zionism chair fumes on X. “The British Mandate in Israel is over.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir writes on X in Spanish that Israel should recognize Argentina’s sovereignty over the disputed Falkland Islands, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “recognize Argentina’s sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands and to impose sanctions on Great Britain as long as the occupation continues.”

Ben Gvir accuses London of “violently stealing” the islands and “stealing the money from the Argentine people.”

Argentine President Javier Milei retweets Ben Gvir’s post.