UK defends West Bank settlement sanctions amid Jewish safety warning
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has rejected claims that sanctions against Israeli settlements could endanger British Jews, as criticism from Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis intensifies.
The UK government is defending sanctions against Israeli settlements in the West Bank after Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis warned that the measures could put the safety of British Jews at risk.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband rejected the warning, according to The Guardian, which reported the dispute as a backlash over the government’s policy.
Miliband said ministers could challenge the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government while also opposing antisemitism. His position places the sanctions within a wider dispute over how the UK should respond to Israeli policy while addressing concerns about antisemitism in Britain.
The supplied report describes the settlements as illegal but does not identify the entities covered by the sanctions, or provide details of their basis and timing.
It also provides no evidence that the sanctions would increase risks to British Jews, leaving the alleged link between the government’s measures and community safety as a matter of political dispute.
