The UK, along with Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden have confirmed their intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law.
The UK, France and Canada have welcomed the action already taken by Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium and will bring forward national measures to ban trade in settlement goods.
The group of countries have also said that they firmly oppose actions "tantamount to the annexation of Palestinian land and forcible displacement of the Palestinian population" and have called of the Government of Israel to "immediately halt the expansion of settlements and civilian administrative powers, ensure accountability for settler violence, and investigate allegations against Israeli forces."
In a speech to parliament, foreign secretary, Ed Miliband said that settler terrorism is rampant and the UN reports an average of six violent settler attacks against Palestinians per day this year, the highest on record.
He also said: "The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank - perpetrated by settler terrorists."
Miliband added: "Now for a long time, the British government has rightly said settlements are illegal.
"But we have remained silent on the question of the legality of the occupation as a whole, which in 2024 the International Court of Justice concluded was unlawful.
"Today I announce that the official view of the British Government is that the occupation is unlawful."
As a result the government has now announced an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories. They will also introduce a new comprehensive sanctions regime and will take actions against specific companies and individuals who provide services such as construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate for settlement expansion.
Plans have also been announced to refuse all licence applications for arms and other exports that materially contribute to the occupation.
