Britain Reconsiders the Balfour Legacy.. Sanctions on Settlements Signal a New Clash With Israel

Behind a tightly locked iron gate, an elderly couple who had traveled from Brooklyn stood looking at their former home in the Palestinian village of Ijzim, south of Haifa, nearly 70 years after leaving it. On the other side of the gate, a man in a wheelchair and a veiled woman were living in the house that had once belonged to the couple’s family.

The image, captured by Al Jazeera cameras in 2020, came to symbolize one of the many dimensions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: one family lost its home while another came to live there, within a broader historical process shaped by British policies that paved the way for the establishment of Israel in Palestine.

That legacy is closely associated with the Balfour Declaration of 1917, when Britain announced its support for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine, at a time when the region was still under Ottoman rule before coming under the British Mandate. The consequences of that policy continued to unfold, leading to the Nakba of 1948, the 1967 war, and decades of displacement, settlement expansion, destruction and conflict.

Britain Reconsiders Its Policy Toward Settlements

After decades of political support for Israel, Britain has in recent years adopted increasingly critical positions toward Israeli settlements and violations against Palestinians.

On Tuesday, the United Kingdom announced sanctions against individuals and entities linked to settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, along with a ban on imports of goods originating from Israeli settlements.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Britain would “no longer remain silent” about what was happening, stressing that the government condemned Palestinian suffering and supported accountability for violations in the Gaza Strip.

Miliband went further, saying the British government believed that ethnic cleansing was taking place in the West Bank at the hands of settlers, while accusing the Israeli government of turning a blind eye to such practices and, in some cases, supporting policies that contribute to the forced displacement of Palestinians.

Settlements at the Center of a Growing European Dispute

The British move comes as part of a broader Western effort. Eleven countries have joined a position calling for national restrictions on trade involving settlements considered illegal under international law.

The group includes Spain, France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden.

The shift reflects a widening gap between traditional Western positions toward Israel and growing criticism of its settlement and displacement policies in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank has also increased dramatically since the Oslo period, rising from around 270,000 in 1993 to approximately 770,000 in 2026, according to figures cited in the report.

October 7 Changed the Political Landscape

The report argues that the Palestinian resistance operation on October 7, 2023, marked a turning point in Western perceptions of the conflict.

The subsequent Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip triggered mounting international criticism, particularly over the large number of civilian casualties, widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure, and the displacement and starvation of Palestinians.

The continuation of the war has contributed to significant shifts in the positions of several European countries. Spain, Norway and Ireland recognized the State of Palestine in 2024, followed later by countries including France, Britain and Slovenia.

The shift has not been limited to Europe. Within the United States, voices critical of Israeli policies have also become more prominent, despite Washington’s continued political and military support for Israel.

Growing Recognition of a Changing Climate in Washington

Against this backdrop, U.S. President Donald Trump previously spoke about changes in the American political environment surrounding Israel, noting that criticizing Israel was no longer necessarily enough to end the political career of someone who did so.

Such statements reflect a broader debate within American society over the war in Gaza and Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories, including the killing of civilians, destruction of homes and displacement.

In Britain, Miliband’s speech before the House of Commons reflected a more explicit effort to reassess previous policies by linking the government’s new measures to settlement expansion, displacement and the need to hold those responsible for violations accountable.

Israel Responds by Closing the British Consulate

In response to Britain’s actions, the Israeli government announced the closure of the British Consulate in East Jerusalem, which plays a role in managing relations with the Palestinian Authority.

The move highlights the growing tensions between London and the Israeli government, particularly as the dispute has moved beyond political statements toward concrete measures and sanctions affecting economic activity connected to the settlements.

The settlement issue therefore appears to be entering a new phase, having evolved from a matter of disagreement within Western capitals into an issue prompting a growing number of governments to take direct action, amid increasing international pressure on Israel over the Gaza war and its policies in the West Bank.