British officials believed Israel had said it would hold off on moving ahead with construction in E1, a piece of land viewed as vital to a future Palestinian state. Israel said it promised no such thing.
Israel’s right-wing government is opening bidding for thousands of housing units in a patch of the West Bank, a move that would thwart efforts at Palestinian statehood.
The fierce retaliation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to the new restrictions is a reflection of his tough re-election fight, analysts say.
Britain once followed in France’s slipstream when it came to pressuring Israel. Under new leadership, it is spearheading opposition to Israeli settlements, risking American anger.
The Trump administration did not oppose a UK-led initiative to impose new sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, U.S. officials and Western diplomats say. Why it matters: The White House's decision not to push back on the UK effort, which 11 other Western countries have joined, is a signal of its frustration with the Netanyahu government's policy in the West Bank. Driving the news: The UK announced Tuesday it would impose sanctions against individuals and entities involved in building settlements in the West Bank. - The UK also announced a ban on imported goods from the Israeli settlements. - The move came in response to the Netanyahu government's decision to move forward with a new settlement in the sensitive E1…
The U.K. government says that that it’s banning trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank where it says “settler terrorists” are carrying out “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians
The expected move will be announced on Tuesday, officials said, and underscored Israel’s mounting isolation over its policies toward Palestinians following the war in Gaza.
While workers, who were employees in government or public institutions, feel vindicated by how their lawsuits concluded, they are still grappling with the aftermath.