Extract from ABC News
By Riley Stuart in London and Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran in Jerusalem
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announces a ban on imports from Israeli settlements. (Supplied: House of Commons)
In short:
A dozen countries including the UK, Canada and France, on Tuesday announced plans to introduce or support import bans on goods from Israeli settlements.
The move sparked an immediate backlash from Israel, which says it will close Britain's consulate in East Jerusalem, which serves occupied Palestine.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told parliament this week Australia would not pursue a similar ban "at this time".
Britain, France and Canada will ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, in a move that prompted a swift retaliation and could spark a broader geopolitical storm.
While several smaller nations had already adopted similar policies, Tuesday's announcement from the three G7 powers was much more significant.
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband revealed the plan in a speech in parliament on Tuesday. Two hours later, his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa'ar, announced that in response, his country would close the British consulate in East Jerusalem, among several other measures.
That facility had served as Britain's representative office for occupied Palestine. The UK's embassy in Tel Aviv remains unaffected.
An estimated 700,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
Ma'ale Adumim, near Jerusalem, is among the most established Israeli settlements in the West Bank. (ABC News: Tim Swanston)
The announcement was widely telegraphed and drew condemnation from right-wing politicians in Israel, the country's president, Isaac Herzog, and US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee even before it was made official.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the British ambassador to be expelled.
Meanwhile, Mr Sa'ar said on top of closing the UK's consulate in East Jerusalem, the country's representatives would be removed from a support centre in Gaza and a training program in the West Bank.
He also said 12 UK politicians who were "antisemitic" would be denied entry to Israel.
Israel's government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been criticised by much of the international community for accelerating the construction of settlements in the West Bank and not doing enough to stop violent attacks by Israelis on Palestinians there, while multiple wars have raged in the Middle East over the past three years.
The British Consulate in occupied East Jerusalem has been closed. (ABC News: Hamish Harty)
Miliband says 'settler terrorists' carrying out 'ethnic cleansing'
The announcement by France, Britain and Canada on Tuesday also included commitments from nine other European nations that they intended to introduce or support similar bans in the future.
In his speech, Mr Miliband said "settler terrorists" were carrying out "ethnic cleansing of Palestinians" in the West Bank, and accused Israel's government of turning a "blind eye" to this.
Israel's government and PM have previously condemned settler violence, although some ministers have also openly campaigned for it.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced his country's ban on imports from Israeli settlements in a post on social media.
"Why are we doing this? Because the West Bank is close to exploding — there is frenzied expansion of the settlements, a flare-up of violence against Palestinians by extremist settlers, and acts of terror which have been attacked by Israeli authorities themselves," he wrote on X.
The import restrictions are not expected to have a significant impact on the economies of France, Britain, Canada or Israel, and experts have warned it will be difficult to enforce.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar did not take long to announce retaliatory measures on the UK. (Reuters: Agustin Marcarian )
Dr Julie Norman, an associate fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Program at London-based think tank Chatham House, said the announcement was still significant.
"I think this is really important for middle powers to think about, that maybe directly their own ban or prohibition may not have a huge financial weight, but collectively with others, it will," she said.
Dr Norman said the ban could be extended in the future to include, specifically, IT companies, which could hurt Israel's economy more.
Australia was not part of Tuesday's announcement, and in parliament earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government was "not at this time pursuing a blanket-style import ban" on goods from Israeli settlements.
However, she said Australia would look at "targeted measures" to "deter illegal settlements and settler violence".
Several countries, including the UK and Australia, have in the past 12 months announced they would or have recognised a Palestinian state.
Israel's decision to press ahead with plans to build a settlement on a particularly controversial parcel of land near Jerusalem, called E1, has been denounced as a diplomatic red line by several Western governments, and was referenced specifically by the nations introducing bans as one of the reasons behind their decisions.
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