Over 140 Labour MPs call for trade ban on illegal Israeli settlements

More than 140 Labour MPs have called on the government to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

In an open letter to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, the MPs called on the government to expand the sanctions regime on the Israeli government over “displacement and state-backed violence” as part of their E1 housing development in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The letter reads: “There is an urgent need for accountability and concrete consequences in response to Israel’s violations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are spiralling by the day. We believe ending trade with settlements is a vital next step and urge you to initiate proceedings to put such a ban into place as soon as possible.”

The list of signatories includes every Labour select committee chair, former health secretary Wes Streeting and a cross-factional section of backbenchers.

Melanie Ward, the lead signatory of the letter, said: “It’s time to be clear that settlements have no viable economic future. We are deeply concerned at the vast rise in violent Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians and at settlement expansion, which forces Palestinians off their land.

“The Israeli government itself is clear this is designed to prevent a two-state solution ever being realised.”

It comes as Wes Streeting, who is preparing for a leadership challenge against Keir Starmer, said he felt like he was “hitting up against a brick wall” when trying to raise concerns about Gaza while in the Cabinet.

He told The Guardian: “In government, I did everything I could behind the scenes to get the government to act with the moral urgency the conflict demands. 

“I wasn’t the only Cabinet minister pushing for action, but we often felt like we were hitting up against a brick wall. Our concerns and motives were dismissed.”

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