Pakistan welcomes UK-led sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank: FO

Pakistan on Wednesday welcomed the United Kingdom-led decision to impose trade sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying that the illegal settlements undermined efforts towards a two-state solution, the Foreign Office (FO) said.

UK imposed the trade measures on Tuesday, alongside Canada and France. The decision was announced by British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who accused the Israeli government of turning a “blind eye” to what he called “ethnic cleansing” by settlers in the West Bank.

Meanwhile, a joint statement by the foreign ministers of 12 nations, including Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, also expressed an intention to follow suit and stressed that the Israeli government’s actions in the West Bank undermined the possibility of a two-state solution.

In a statement on its X account, the FO welcomed the decision and said: “The continued expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory constitutes a blatant violation of international law as well as relevant UN Security Council resolutions.”

Maintaining that Israel’s actions were a hindrance to a two-state solution, the FO also welcomed the joint statement by the 12 countries, which it said were considering “similar measures and support[ing] such efforts against the illegal Israeli settlements”.

“Pakistan hopes that these measures will send a clear and unequivocal message of rejection of illegal actions in the occupied Palestinian territory,” the statement said.

Islamabad reiterated support for Palestine, vowing to stand by its people and “their just struggle for self-determination”.

In response to the UK’s actions, Israel ordered the closure of the UK’s consulate in Jerusalem earlier today. It also said it would expel British representatives at a centre monitoring the US-brokered ceasefire plan in Gaza, bar British training for Palestinian Authority forces and ban 12 Britons, mostly members of parliament, from visiting the country.

Miliband, in response, condemned Israel’s actions as “regrettable and damaging”. Speaking to BBC Radio, he also rejected suggestions that the sanctions would impact intelligence cooperation with Israel.

“We have important intelligence and security relationships with Israel, and I’m confident they will continue,” he said, declining to go into details.

“And I was very clear yesterday that we do believe in working with our Israeli partners when it comes to the threats they face from Iran,” he added.