British MPs turned away at West Bank urge UK to sanction Israel, not just settlers
Writing for Al Jazeera, a British parliamentarian detained by Israeli forces for nearly eight hours calls on the UK to widen its sanctions beyond settler entities.
At a glance
- A British parliamentarian says Israeli forces detained a UK delegation for nearly eight hours at the West Bank border this week.
- The author wants UK sanctions widened from settler entities to Israeli state policy and the whole settlement economy.
- The piece also urges closing F-35 and arms-training loopholes and sanctioning those blocking aid to Gaza.
A British parliamentarian and two fellow MPs were detained and interrogated by Israeli forces for nearly eight hours this week while trying to enter the occupied West Bank, and were ultimately prevented from crossing the border. Writing for Al Jazeera, the parliamentarian said the delegation, organised by the campaign group Global Justice Now, had travelled to document attacks on Palestinian olive harvesters and the expansion of illegal settlements.
The author said the group's experience was minor compared with the daily life of Palestinians under occupation, describing the situation in the West Bank as a slow-motion form of ethnic cleansing carried out by Israeli forces and settler militias. The piece also points to the killing of more than 200 Palestinian journalists in Gaza over three years of war and says Israeli forces used tear gas on journalists filming the demolition of Palestinian homes in Hebron last week.
Timing and politics
The visit came shortly before Israeli elections and just after the United Kingdom announced new sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The elections have yet to produce a clear outcome, and the author writes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could still be ousted. But the piece argues that removing him would not end Palestinian suffering, saying nothing offered by Israel's opposition indicates a change of course on Palestine.
What the author is asking for
The author welcomed what he described as a change of direction by British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, but said the announced sanctions must be enacted quickly rather than after six months, and widened in scope.
The core problem, the piece argues, is not only settler violence but state policy, with Israel's government using settler militias to attack Palestinians and their land. Stopping new settlement construction is not enough, the author adds, and the whole settlement economy should be made unviable. The text of Britain's sanctions regulations suggests the government can sanction companies that profit from illegal settlements, including those providing finance, insurance and surveillance technology, the piece says.
On arms sales, it says components for F-35 jets are still allowed to reach Israel even though the government has said it will halt sales that materially contribute to the occupation, and that arms licences for aircraft used to train forces overseeing the occupation also continue.
The author also urges the UK to use its Global Human Rights sanctions regime against those involved in blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza, and says the siege must end so the territory can be rebuilt. The piece cites International Court of Justice guidance that countries must take steps to end assistance to Israel's illegal occupation, including ending trade and investment that help maintain it.
Al Jazeera notes that the views expressed are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect its editorial stance.
Source: Al Jazeera.
Questions and answers
- Why was the British delegation denied entry to the West Bank?
- The author, a British parliamentarian, says the delegation was interrogated and held for nearly eight hours by Israeli forces and then prevented from crossing. The group had come to document attacks on olive harvesters and settlement expansion.
- What is the UK being asked to do about Israel's settlements?
- The piece calls for sanctions to be enacted quickly and broadened beyond settlers to state policy, targeting companies that finance, insure or supply surveillance technology to settlements, and closing arms sale loopholes.
- What does the piece say about Gaza?
- It says the UK should use its Global Human Rights sanctions regime against those involved in blocking humanitarian aid, and that the siege must end so Gaza can be rebuilt.
