UK official: Actions of next Israeli government may affect scope of settlement sanctions; Jerusalem’s countersteps ‘not constructive’

The scope of the United Kingdom’s newly announced sanctions targeting West Bank settlements could expand or narrow based on the actions of Israel’s next government, a British official tells reporters, without suggesting the measures could be abandoned altogether.

“The government has flexibility in how it implements these measures,” the official says, pointing to remarks by British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband that London “will judge a new Israeli government by its actions,” and saying technical details will be discussed by ministers over the next six to nine months before their expected implementation.

While London has set no specific conditions for reconsidering the measures, it broadly wants Israel to curb settlement expansion and settler violence, advance a political resolution with the Palestinians, and stop efforts to weaken or collapse the Palestinian Authority, the official says.

The official also says Israel assured the UK, France and Germany that it would take no new steps on its E1 settlement project before the upcoming Israeli election, yet subsequently issued a housing tender set to close a week before the vote, saying this was one catalyst for yesterday’s sanctions announcement.

While denouncing the sanctions and laying out Israeli countermeasures yesterday, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar argued that E1’s advancement was “not a new decision,” as its formal approval was finalized in 2025 and the tender process has been underway for months.

The British official also criticizes Israel’s countermeasure of removing British officials from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat, saying that “all that the Israeli government has done in expelling our staff… is undermine efforts to implement [US President Donald Trump’s] 20-point plan [for Gaza.] That’s not a constructive response.”

Despite contacts between senior counterparts ahead of the sanctions decision, including Sa’ar and Miliband, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not spoken with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham since Burnham took office in late July, the official adds.

The planned import ban will cover goods from Israeli settlements throughout the West Bank, including the Jordan Valley, the official says, though whether it will apply to more sensitive areas such as Jewish areas in East Jerusalem and the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, for example, remains “undecided.”

Separately, London plans to legislate for discretionary sanctions against companies, organizations and individuals supporting, constructing or financing “the settlement project,” the official goes on, saying that rather than automatically covering every business connected to settlements, ministers will choose whom to designate and could exempt entities such as Israeli banks.

The official also confirms that Israel has formally instructed the UK to close its East Jerusalem consulate within 30 days, saying it employs around 20 British diplomats and 60 local staff.