Twelve countries including Britain, Canada and France announced on Tuesday they would sanction trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, after increasing attacks by settlers against Palestinians in the occupied territory.

Israel ordered the closure of Britain's consulate in Jerusalem in retaliation.

Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden also plan to issue restrictions on trade with the settlements, the nations' foreign ministers said in a joint statement.

The action follows weeks of increasing attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian villages in the illegally occupied territory that has drawn widespread condemnation from the international community.

Ireland and Spain have already taken measures against trade with Israeli settlements, and France has for weeks been pushing for a similar decision from the European Union, Israel's leading trading partner, but has been blocked by some members.

The 12 ministers said actions by the Israeli government in the West Bank was "undermining the possibility of a two-state solution" referring to a plan under which two states – one Israeli and one Palestinian – would live peacefully side by side.

"The situation is rapidly deteriorating amid unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion," they warned.

The E1 settlement plan – approved by Israel last year after decades of being frozen, notably due to pressure from successive US administrations – would see 1,200 housing units built in the West Bank.

It would further isolate Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied territory.

During an address to the UK parliament, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accused the Israeli government of turning a "blind eye" to what he called "ethnic cleansing" by the Israeli settlers.

He announced Britain would introduce an "import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories".

"I do not believe the British people want us supporting the occupation by accepting products from settlements in our shops and supermarkets," he told the British parliament, flanked by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

"We will take action against specific companies and individuals who provide services such as construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate for settlement expansion," he added.

In a statement posted on X, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France "will end trade" with settlements located in the occupied territories.

In addition to closing Britain's consulate in Jerusalem, Israel said it would expel British diplomats at a centre monitoring the US-brokered ceasefire plan in Gaza and bar British training for Palestinian Authority forces, as well as banning 12 British officials from visiting Israel.

"The accusations made today by the foreign secretary in the British Parliament were outrageous lies," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.

"The British move is morally distorted and constitutes blatant interference in the affairs of a sovereign state and in its electoral process," he said, ahead of close-fought October 27 elections in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is championing settlements in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority welcomed the announcement of sanctions on Israeli settlements, calling it "an important step" to accountability.

"This is an important practical step toward holding the settlement system accountable and demonstrating non-recognition of the unlawful situation created by the occupation," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's office said in a statement.

The US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told BBC Radio on Tuesday: "I feel like it's discrimination against the Israeli government. It's a discrimination against the Jewish people." (AFP)



Edited by Edmond Fong