Jersey is expected to follow the UK in a new crackdown on trade linked to illegal Israeli settlements.
Chief Minister Deputy Lyndon Farnham told the States Assembly on Tuesday morning that the Island “usually aligns” itself with British foreign policy, just hours before UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a sweeping package of measures targeting settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories – including a ban on goods, sanctions against those helping settlements expand and a ban on advertising settlement property.
The issue was raised in the States Chamber by Deputy Lee Carpenter, who asked whether Jersey would “swiftly follow suit” if the anticipated UK measures were confirmed.
The Chief Minister replied: “As the Deputy rightly points out, they expect the UK will announce something today, although nothing has been announced as yet.
“On the wider point around a UK reset that Foreign Secretary Miliband is likely to announce, I would just remind members that Jersey usually aligns with UK foreign policy and will engage with the relevant UK departments concerning the practical effects of any confirmed policy implications.
“It’s too early to say, other than I would reiterate, we usually align ourselves with UK foreign policy.”
What has the UK now announced?
Hours later, Mr Miliband told the House of Commons that the UK Government now formally regarded Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories as unlawful and said that view should be reflected in Britain’s economic relationship with the occupied territories.
Opening his statement by describing himself as a “proud British Jew” and recalling how Israel had provided sanctuary to his grandmother after she lost her husband and 60 other family members to the Nazis, Mr Miliband said he remained “unwavering” in his support for the State of Israel, but argued that there was “absolutely no contradiction” between that position and supporting a Palestinian state.
Stating that the British government “agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank” and suggesting that “all too often the Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this” or taken actions to support the displacement of Palestinians, he went on to announce that the UK would introduce an import ban on goods from illegal settlements through a new “comprehensive sanctions regime”.
The measures will also target specific companies and individuals providing construction, infrastructure, financing or real-estate services which facilitate settlement expansion.
“Earlier this year, shamefully, just a few miles from here, we saw an expo advertising illegal settlement land,” he said.
“We must and we will ensure this never happens again, so we will ban the advertising in the UK of illegal settlements.”
Mr Miliband stressed that the measures were aimed at illegal settlements and their expansion rather than Israel itself, saying the UK would continue to support trade with Israel within the Green Line and that he opposed the wider Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign.
The legislation is expected to be “in place within six to nine months”, while Mr Miliband said the UK would also be taking more immediate action against a “further set of extremist settlers who have supported or incited acts of violence against Palestinian communities”.
Mr Miliband also announced that Britain would refuse arms and other export licences where the goods would “materially contribute to the occupation”.
France and Canada are also announcing bans on goods from illegal settlements alongside the UK, according to the Foreign Secretary.
Former Reform Jersey leader and minister Sam Mézec – who made a trip to Palestine over the summer, after his unsuccessful bid to be reelected – said on X that the UK government’s announcement was “a huge step forward for those who want to see peace and justice in that region”.
“I have been to a Palestinian town surrounded by illegal settlements, and spoke to people who witnessed an innocent father being shot dead by an extremist settler, who was then let off without charge by the Israeli authorities,” he added. “There can be no justification for this.”
In July, shortly after his re-election to the leading political role, Senator Farnham said that his government was prepared to speak to the new UK Prime Minister about the conflict in Gaza, following the findings of an independent United Nations investigative body examining civilian harm in the region.
