Palestinian Presidency welcomes UK announcement of import ban on settlement products
Ramallah, Sept 8 (KUNA) -- The Palestinian Presidency welcomed today, Tuesday, the announcement by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband before the House of Commons of his government’s decision to impose a ban on the import of products from Israeli settlements established on occupied Palestinian territory and to impose sanctions on extremist settlers. In a statement published by the Palestinian News Agency (Wafa), the Presidency described the decision as an important step in confronting the colonial settlement system of the Israeli occupation and its violations against the Palestinian people.
It praised the British position, which it characterized as progressive and as reaffirming the illegality of settlements built on Palestinian land, as well as the necessity of taking practical and tangible steps to hold accountable those responsible for settlement crimes and settler violence. It stressed that the ban on importing settlement products, along with other measures announced by the British government, represents a step in the right direction, in line with international law and relevant UN resolutions, sending a clear message that the international community will not accept the continuation of settlement activities, land confiscation, and the displacement of the Palestinian people.
It emphasized the importance of accompanying these steps with additional binding international measures to halt settlement expansion, stop settler crimes, and hold perpetrators accountable, including imposing sanctions on those responsible for such crimes.
The Presidency welcomed the British Foreign Secretary’s reaffirmation of the United Kingdom’s commitment to the two-state solution and to preserving the possibility of establishing a geographically contiguous and viable Palestinian state. It called on all European and friendly countries to follow the British example and take similar practical measures to halt commercial and economic dealings with settlements and their products, and to impose sanctions on settlers involved in violence, ultimately leading to the end of the Israeli occupation and the realization of Palestinian independence.
Earlier, Miliband announced the imposition of a new set of trade restrictions on illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, following an escalation in violence perpetrated by settlers and plans to build additional illegal settlements.
Also earlier today, the foreign ministers of Britain and 11 other countries, as part of a joint international effort to protect the two-state solution, issued a joint statement on taking measures against illegal Israeli settlements. The statement, issued by the foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, said these measures were taken to protect the two-state solution, which is threatened by the practices of the Israeli occupation government in the West Bank.
The countries affirmed their determination to impose national restrictions and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements, which are illegal under international law, in accordance with their national procedures. (End) N.Q./M.A.A.
