UK announces new Israeli settlement sanctions, despite U.S. warning of economic consequences

The Houses of Parliament are seen on June 28, 2024 in London, England ahead of the UK general election.Peter Nicholls | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesThe U.K. government is pushing ahead with planned sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, despite U.S. officials and lawmakers warning of economic consequences for doing so.Speaking in the country's parliament on Tuesday, U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Britain would ban imports from Israeli settlements built on land that is internationally recognized as Palestinian territory. The measures are expected to take six to nine months to come into force, he added."Today I announce that the official view of the British government is that the occupation [of the West Bank] is unlawful," Miliband told British lawmakers. "The government believes the unlawfulness of the occupation should be reflected in the economic relationships we choose to have with the occupied territories."Miliband said the British government agreed that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, "perpetrated by settler terrorists.""All too often, the Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this, and worse, ...