Help to remove the disgrace of Jewish terrorism: Prominent Israelis welcome UK sanctions
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The announcement of new sanctions on Israeli settlers and the settlement enterprise in the occupied West Bank by the UK, Canada, and France is, for many prominent Israelis, an inevitable consequence of Israeli government and security failures, seeing them as sanctions against Jewish terrorists, but not against the legitimacy of Israel, nor an expression of antisemitism.
The intervention by Britain, one of Israel’s closest allies, was one of the most significant attempts in many years to use economic power to force the Israeli government to halt settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
Israel reportedly viewed British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband’s announcement about the UK’s plan to impose a slew of economic constraints, likely banning products from the settlement regions and departing from its traditional approach, as a surprise, according to The Guardian.
Alongside France and Canada, 10 other European countries expressed support for the proposed measures, the impact of which is expected to be twofold on trade from the region.
Amid the growing intolerance and disquiet within Israel towards settler violence and the government’s policy in the occupied West Bank, the announcement caught Israeli officials off guard, with one Israeli newspaper describing it as an “intelligence-diplomatic failure”.
A recent poll held in Israel revealed that nearly three-quarters of Jewish Israelis are in favour of grabbing, partially or totally, the West Bank from Palestinians, while their opinion, particularly among leading candidates facing the upcoming election, is against an independent Palestinian state.
At the same time, however, opposition to settler violence and settlement expansion has become increasingly vocal among sections of Israel’s political, military, diplomatic and cultural establishment.
Prof David Harel, president of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, backing the British measures, said the sanctions offered urgently needed support to Israelis who were trying to stop attacks against Palestinians and end the occupation.
Former prime minister Ehud Olmert, former army commander Dan Halutz, former ministers Yuli Tamir and Roni Bar-On, and former ambassador Yoram Ben Zeev also backed the sanctions, describing them as necessary to remove the “disgrace of Jewish terrorism” from Israel.
Fourteen Israeli human rights organisations also welcomed the measures, calling them an important and necessary first step.
Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar, however, condemned the British action as “blatant interference” in Israel’s domestic affairs, while opposition politicians suggested that Benjamin Netanyahu could use the sanctions to strengthen his campaign before the election.