Christian Aid welcomes UK government ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements

Taybeh - The last fully Christian town in West Bank currently besieged by illegal settlers

Source: Christian Aid

Christian Aid has welcomed the UK government's ban on importing goods from illegal Israeli settlements as an important step in confronting the forcible displacement of Palestinians from their land.

Responding to the UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband's announcement today, Christian Aid said it was an appropriate response to the long-standing violation of international law by Israel.

Christian Aid's Head of Middle East Policy, William Bell, said: "Today's announcement is not merely about the legal status of fruit and vegetables - it is about confronting an existential threat to Palestinians who are being forcibly displaced from their land.

It is an appropriate response to a blatant violation of international law that has undermined the prospects of a just peace between Palestinians and Israelis for decades and left families homeless, desperate, and reliant on aid.

Given the urgency, the ban must be immediate. A comprehensive sanctions regime against providing services, such as construction or financing for Israeli settlements, should be brought in as soon as possible.

This is a welcome start to ensuring that the UK is responding to its obligations not to support an unlawful occupation as laid out by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) 2024 Advisory."

Christian Aid notes: 'This move will help bring the UK into compliance with the International Court of Justice's July 2024 advisory opinion and give meaning to the UK's recent recognition of the State of Palestine. The ICJ was also clear that states have an obligation not to provide aid or assistance that sustains Israel's unlawful occupation.

'To date, the failure to uphold international law - including in relation to state-sanctioned settler violence - has fostered impunity, encouraged further violence, and undermined Palestinians' security and livelihoods

'Settlements are illegal under international law because they violate Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring parts of its civilian population into occupied territory."

Read more about Christian Aid's work in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory: www.christianaid.org.uk/our-work/where-we-work/israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territory-iopt