By Pesach Benson • September 8, 2026
Jerusalem, 8 September, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Britain and 11 other countries on Tuesday announced economic restrictions targeting Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, prompting sharp Israeli condemnation.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Britain would ban imports from Israeli communities that it considers illegal under international law and impose sanctions on companies and individuals involved in financing, construction, infrastructure and real estate there. Britain will also restrict advertising and marketing of property in the communities.
Iceland, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Poland, Portugal, Finland, France, Canada and Sweden said they were joining the effort.
Israeli officials and activist groups condemned the measures.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the sanctions “a grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history.”
Speaking in Jerusalem, Herzog said the measures would amount to “a gross interference in the democratic elections of a sovereign nation” and would harm Palestinians by “robbing them of business and employment.” He added that the sanctions would ultimately undermine “the interests and national security of freedom-loving nations.”
Yesha Council chairman Israel Gantz also condemned the measures, calling Britain’s decision to target products from Judea and Samaria and impose sanctions on Jews because of where they live and work “a disgraceful anti-Semitic step.” The Yesha Council is the umbrella organization representing Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.
“The British Mandate ended almost 80 years ago,” Gantz said. “The days when London determined where Jews could live in the Land of Israel are over and will not return.”
Gantz accused Britain of mobilizing “a coalition of pro-Palestinian countries to wage an economic war on Jews” in Benjamin, Judea and Samaria. He called for Israel to confiscate funds belonging to the Palestinian Authority to compensate for any damage caused by the boycott.
“Our message to Britain and everyone who joins the boycott is clear: you will not succeed in getting the Jews out of Judea and Samaria,” Gantz said. “We will respond to any attempt to harm the settlement with more construction, more settlements and Israeli sovereignty.”
Col. (res.) Dovi Sheffler, head of the Efrat Council, likewise accused Britain of seeking to determine where Jews may live in the Land of Israel.
“The British Mandate ended in May 1948—someone in London must have gotten confused and thought it was still in effect,” Sheffler said. “Our answer should be to return Birkot Shlomo to Israeli control.” Birkot Shlomo is a Jewish heritage site in the Efrat area. Sheffler said returning the site to Israeli control would respond to what he described as a historical injustice stemming from the Oslo Accords.
The Regavim Movement, an Israeli NGO focused on land and planning issues, also accused Britain of interfering in Israeli sovereignty. “You are confused, the days of the White Paper are long over,” the group said, referring to Britain’s pre-state restrictions on Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine.
Regavim accused Britain of continuing what it described as a hostile policy toward Israel, and said Britain itself was involved in what the group called illegal construction and funding in Judea and Samaria. It also called on the Israeli government to halt what it termed foreign interference in the region.
NGO Monitor, which tracks the activities of nongovernmental organizations, also condemned the British measures. It argued that pressure from groups including Amnesty International and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign had contributed to the policy, and accused those organizations of seeking to isolate Israel internationally and undermine its legitimacy.
The 12 countries said Israeli policies were undermining prospects for a two-state solution. The statement called on Israel to “immediately halt settlement expansion and the expansion of administrative powers in the West Bank,” ensure accountability for settler violence and investigate allegations against Israeli Security forces.
Britain is also maintaining the suspension of 30 weapons licenses for the Israel Defense Forces and will reject licenses for weapons sales that it says contribute to what it describes as the occupation.
