More than 80 British MPs call for sanctions on Israel - Sarmad

British MP Richard Burgon revealed that more than 80 members of parliament from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, representing nine parties, signed a petition urging the government to impose broad sanctions on Israel.

The petition calls for an arms embargo on Israel, economic sanctions, and a ban on trade in products originating from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

These developments come as international pressure on Israel intensifies due to the continued expansion of settlement activity. The Israeli settlements in the West Bank, home to approximately 750,000 settlers, pose a major obstacle to any political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and are considered illegal under international law.

This initiative follows days of parliamentary debates in the UK regarding the “Sanctions for Peace” bill introduced by the Labour Party, which calls for sanctions against extremist settlers and a halt to trade with Israeli settlements.

Former British Foreign Secretary David Lammy stated that “settlements are illegal and undermine peace,” amid warnings that continued settlement expansion could lead to the “collapse of the two-state solution.”

Israeli settlement activity, intensified by the current Israeli government, remains one of the main obstacles to reviving peace negotiations. Palestinians view it as a policy aimed at altering the demographic reality in the occupied territories. In 2016, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2334, demanding an end to settlement activity, but Israel refused to implement its provisions.

In December 2025, the Israeli government announced the establishment of 19 new settlements in the West Bank, sparking a wave of international condemnation and further isolating Israel diplomatically, particularly among US Democrats and European left-wing parties, which continue to push for a tougher stance against Israeli settlement expansion policies.