• Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel of undermining regional peace efforts with “lies and sabotage”.

Israeli ministers push for depopulation of Gaza

Far-right Israeli ministers began more forcefully advocating the wholesale removal of Palestinians in Gaza last week, offering timelines and government mechanisms to conduct illegal forced expulsions while displacement, demolitions and killings continued across Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz told a conference on Wednesday that removing Palestinians from Gaza is “the only solution”, saying Israel is prepared to do it “by sea, by air and by every way possible”, and that US President Donald Trump has merely “frozen” – not cancelled – his support for the idea.

Then, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir unveiled a seven-year plan, branded “Disengagement 710”, to remove Gaza’s roughly two million residents through what he called “voluntary emigration”.

Ben-Gvir added that, if re-elected, he would establish a Migration Ministry to expel Palestinians.

ICJ hears Nicaragua’s argument that Germany’s arms exports to Israel violates Genocide Convention

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has started a second day of hearings over allegations that Germany is facilitating genocide in Gaza through its military support for Israel.

Nicaragua is outlining its case against Germany today, arguing why the case should be heard by the ICJ after Berlin argued for hours on Monday that the court has no jurisdiction to hear the case filed by Managua in 2024.

Leading the case for Nicaragua is veteran diplomat Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, who set the tone by saying that while it was possible that many Germans did not know what was happening during the Holocaust, it is impossible for Germany not to know what is happening now in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

“He said it’s very clear that Germany is knowingly and willingly supporting and facilitating a genocide through weapons exports that have increased since October 7, 2023. Interestingly, he also mentioned that Germany is still sending a lot of weapons to Israel. Germany stopped for three months in 2025, but when the ceasefire was signed, all exports continued as before,” Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen said, reporting from The Hague.

This is a test case for the world court to determine how far the responsibility of countries that are not directly involved in a conflict can extend, Vaessen explained.

In its legal case, Nicaragua argues that every country has an independent responsibility to take steps to prevent genocide and to ensure that it does not facilitate one.

Germany, for its part, argues that this is not a dispute between the two countries and that, as long as the ICJ has not ruled in South Africa’s case that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, Germany cannot be found complicit.

The ICJ genocide case is still under way.

‘Smear campaign’: Qatar dismisses Israeli PM’s ‘hostile state’ remark

Ibrahim al-Hashmi, a communications director at Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, says Israel has resorted to a “smear campaign” against the Gulf country as it can no longer claim to be a “vibrant democracy in the Middle East” and the most “moral army in the world” following the genocide in Gaza.

His comments come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Qatar a “hostile state” in an interview with Israeli media.

“Qatar is a trusted and principled international partner,” al-Hashmi told reporters in Doha.

“Its mediation and humanitarian efforts in Gaza and in the occupied Palestinian territories are well documented, well known to the entire world. The Israeli officials know this very well. As much as they know that Qatar has thick skin, and that it will not be deterred by such rhetoric used for internal consumption,” he said.

UK to announce trade ban on goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank today

UK Pensions Minister Pat McFadden says his country ⁠⁠will ⁠⁠announce, later today, a trade ban on goods made in ⁠⁠Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

“The foreign secretary ‌‌will make a statement to Parliament later today, and at the heart of the statement is the ⁠⁠idea that the UK, ⁠⁠along with many other countries, does not want ⁠⁠to see the possibility of ⁠⁠a two-state solution ⁠⁠in Israel and Palestine being erased,” McFadden told Times Radio ‌‌when asked about how a trade ban ‌‌would ‌‌work.

The UK has taken a tougher stance on Israel since Prime Minister Andy Burnham took power in July. The new leader is aware of the importance of the Israel-Palestine issues to his voters, and two months ago he apologised for the Labour Party’s initial response to Israel’s actions in Gaza, saying “we got it wrong.”

UK imposes ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has announced a trade ban ‌on goods made in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

During a speech in the UK Parliament, he also said that Britain is sanctioning the Hezbollah-run ⁠financial institution al-Qard al-Hassan.

Lebanon’s central bank ⁠last year banned ⁠banks and brokerages from dealing with al-Qard ⁠al-Hassan, which describes ⁠itself as ⁠a charitable organisation that provides loans to people ‌according to Islamic principles that forbid charging interest.

‘The beginning of a new approach’: UK foreign secretary

UK’s Miliband says Israel turning ‘blind eye’ to ‘ethnic cleansing’ in West Bank by ‘settler terrorists’

Ed Miliband, the British foreign secretary, said the Israeli government has “turned a blind eye” to the “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank by “settler terrorists”.

The foreign secretary added the British government believes Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory is unlawful.

France to ban products from illegal Israeli settlements in West Bank: Foreign minister

France will launch ⁠a ⁠process to ban products from illegal Israeli settlements in the ⁠occupied West Bank, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said ⁠on Tuesday, amid rising settler violence that has further undermined prospects for a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

“France is going to put an end to its commerce with Israeli settlements in Palestine, along with 11 other countries which have ⁠also undertaken similar ⁠engagements,” Barrot wrote on X.

“Why are we doing this? Because the ⁠West Bank is close to exploding – ⁠there is frenzied ⁠expansion of the settlements, a flare up of violence against Palestinians by ‌extremist settlers, and acts of terror which have been attacked ‌by ‌Israeli authorities themselves,” added Barrot.

Last year, France recognised Palestinian statehood at a high-level summit ahead of the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting in New York.

UK says Canada to also join ban on settlement goods

Speaking at the House of Commons, Miliband has also said that Canada – along with France – will join the UK in banning goods from illegal Israeli settlement.

The foreign secretary said the three countries are part of an international coalition.

A joint statement by 12 countries said: “Today, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, ⁠Poland, Portugal, Spain, ⁠Sweden and the UK confirm their intention to introduce national and/or support ⁠European restrictions on trade in goods ⁠with settlements which ⁠are illegal under international law, or that they are actively considering these and ‌other measures, in accordance with their national procedures,” it ‌added.

Settlement trade ban shows UK reasserting support for two-state solution

The range of the British sanctions on Israel amount to measures aimed at goods made in the settlements in the West Bank which are recognised as illegal under international law.

Foreign Secretary Edward Miliband said that the occupation is now considered by the British government to be unlawful.

Action will be taken against specific services that advertise illegal settlements, including settlement construction and settlement business and so on.

This move shows Britain reasserting its support for the two-state solution in the face of what it sees as Israeli government action to make that two-state solution unviable. The government now feels it must act to prevent this from happening

One of the issues however, is determining what goods come from the illegal settlements and what goods come from Israel itself.

The grey area could means that this is in effect, a de-facto boycott of Israel and Israeli goods, something Miliband was keen to deny. But of course what happens in Washington could be much more telling.

US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, spoke to British media this morning, and he said there could be trade or tariff reprisals on the way. He mentioned that some states in the United States have written in law that this sort of action against Israel would result in a boycott in return.

‘Some division in Europe’ despite latest coordinated settlement restrictions

The joint statement signed by 12 countries, including France and the UK, [announcing they would back or ⁠consider restrictions on trade in goods with illegal Israeli ⁠settlements] says that that Israeli settlements are damaging any chance of a two-state solution. The states are calling for sanctions against those illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The statement issued by France today actually goes a step further, calling for an outright ban on all goods from these Israeli settlements. It comes after efforts by other European countries, like Ireland, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands, in that direction.

There has been some division here in Europe. Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic – they continue to trade with those settlements that the EU itself says are illegal.

• Germany has been part of the Palestinian problem since 1933.
• Austria has a large Jewish community.
• Czech Republic seems not to have learn from its history when it was with Slovakia, Czechoslovakia when the latter stood under control by Soviet Union. Palestinians are under a control worse than Czech Republic was the other half of Czechoslavkia.

UN expert Albanese says Miliband’s remarks are UK’s ‘strongest-ever condemnation of Israeli occupation’

Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, says Miliband’s comments condemning the “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank by “settler terrorists” signal a “seismic shift” in the UK government’s position.

Albanese said that the foreign secretary’s remarks amount to the “strongest condemnation ever issued by the UK government on Israeli occupation”.

The remarks are especially significant given the UK’s “years of painful silence and what appeared to be indifference … for the Palestinian people”, she said.

“It’s an official position on the illegality of the Israeli occupation as a whole and ethnic cleansing,” Albanese said. “This is huge.”

UN special rapporteur says UK will face ‘fierce pressure’ from Israel, US after settlement move

UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese has said the UK is likely to come under “fierce pressure” from Israel and the US over its latest move to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements.

Albanese said she hopes the UK government is not swayed by such pressure, adding that it’s time for European nations to prioritize their own values and interests.

“This is a time that calls for emancipation,” said Albanese. “Europeans need to take care of their own interests, which clearly collide with the US interests.”

“It’s time to reconsider [an] alignment that has brought havoc on the Middle East,” she added.

Israel’s foreign minister calls Miliband’s settlement remarks ‘scandalous’

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has criticised the UK’s move to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements.

Saar said the move amounts to “interference” in Israel’s upcoming elections.

He also slammed remarks by British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband on illegal Israeli settlements and settler violence as “scandalous” and false.

As we reported earlier, Miliband condemned the “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank by “settler terrorists”.

Israel to close British consulate in East Jerusalem, says Israeli FM

Israeli Foreign Minister Saar has announced several retaliatory measures to the UK’s sanctions on Israeli settlements.

Saar said Israel will close Britain’s consulate in occupied East Jerusalem and remove Britain from the US-led Gaza coordination mission based in Israel.

He also said the UK will no longer be able to train forces of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank.

As Sweden heads to polls, Israel and Palestine policies are on the ballot

This Sunday, Sweden will vote in a knife-edge general election that could change the country’s stance on Israel.

The Israel-Palestine conflict has been baked into the political landscape ever since Sweden’s Count Folke Bernadotte, the United Nations’ first mediator for Palestine, was assassinated in 1948 by the Zionist paramilitary group Lehi, widely known as the Stern Gang, in Jerusalem.

Forty years later, Sweden brokered talks in Stockholm between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and a delegation of prominent American Jews. Days later, Washington opened dialogue with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Sweden’s politics run in two blocs.

On the right: The governing Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals, plus the Sweden Democrats, who have propped up the government from outside since all four parties signed an agreement in 2022.

On the left: The Social Democrats, the Left Party and the Greens, with the Centre Party a possible fourth.

US ambassador to Israel has warned of potential US retaliation to UK restrictions on Israeli settlement trade

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has warned that the US could retaliate to any move by the UK to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements.

In comments before the UK’s official position was announced, Huckabee said that such a ban would amount to “discrimination against the Jewish people” and would be met with US action on the federal and state levels.

Speaking to Fox News, Huckabee cited several US states that penalise entities boycotting Israel, such as Florida, saying: “If the Brits do something like this with … Israel, then they will not be able to do business in Florida, which means you’re going to have a huge economic impact on British businesses.”

Israeli settlement expansion intensifies, defying international law on occupied territories

"We expect to see Israel doubling down on the settlement enterprise. These illegal settlement enterprises have been eating up more lands, being connected to one another, being seen as part of Israel proper, which is against international law because they are considered to be built on occupied territory.

But that’s how the Israeli politicians are trying to portray these sanctions, as something that’s against Israeli democracy – these are the words of Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president.

We’ve also heard from Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid who said the sanctions on Israeli settlements will only strengthen the far-right members of the Israeli government and members of the Israeli public because it will show that there is an attack on Israel from the outside.

Lapid also criticized Benjamin Netanyahu, taking this opportunity to take a hit at someone who will be competing with him in upcoming elections and said Netanyahu is leading this country towards diplomatic isolation, hence the need to engage with the international community.

But it is hard to see anyone in Israel who is a staunch critic of the settlement enterprise, something which is becoming more prominent and popular to Israeli voters."

Palestinian ambassador hails ‘turning point’ in UK relationship

Husam Zomlot, the ambassador of the State of Palestine to the United Kingdom, has welcomed Britain’s announcement affirming the illegality of Israeli’s occupation.

“We welcome this decision as a turning point in the UK–Palestine relationship,” he said in a statement.

“Today’s announcement follows naturally from Britain’s recognition of the State of Palestine one year ago. It represents continuity of purpose, not an end in itself.
“Recognition cannot be meaningful if the territory of the recognised state is simultaneously being taken from its people in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Protecting the Palestinian people from illegal occupation, annexation and apartheid; ending the ongoing genocide in Gaza; and holding to account those who have committed war crimes – these are essential for making that recognition real, meaningful and enduring,” added Zomlot.

The ambassador called on the UK government to adopt measures to ensure that all sectors of the British state and economy “are free from complicity in the illegal occupation and settlement enterprise”.

“We stand ready to work with the UK Government and British authorities to ensure remaining legal obligations are met – including a full arms embargo, sanctions on agencies and institutions of the Israeli State that sponsor illegal settlements, and an end to illegal dealings in the OPT by the business and financial services sectors,” he added.

UN special rapporteur says Europe should push to ‘progressively dismantle Israel’s apartheid’

UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese has said that UK’s move to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is an “incredible starting point” given what she called the UK’s past “complicity with Israeli crimes”.

However, Albanese said the move should not be an end point, but rather an impetus “to progressively dismantle Israel’s apartheid”.

“Is it possible that for certain people, including [in] the US, that the only way for Israel to exist is [to be] an apartheid state?” asked Albanese. “This is the model that the US is defending and Europe has a responsibility to help Israel become something else: a place where human rights are respected.”

US will not follow UK on Israeli settlement sanctions, says Rubio

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US will not take the same action as the UK over Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, but that he has no comment beyond that for now.

Speaking to reporters, Rubio said the US does “not want to see some uptick in violence, or an uptick in conflict or tensions in the West Bank at a very tenuous time for the region”.

Activist calls UK settlement sanctions ‘symbolic’, blasts ‘criminalisation’ of pro-Palestinian groups

The co-founder of the Palestine Action, an activist group which the British government has proscribed as a “terrorist” organization, has criticised the UK’s policy towards Palestinians and pro-Palestinian protesters, suggesting it is contradictory.

In a post on X, Huda Ammori said: “Britain has no issue with sanctioning and criminalizing its own citizens for disrupting the Israeli weapons industry during a genocide.”

She added that the UK’s new sanctions on Israeli settlements don’t go far enough, calling them “symbolic” and “ineffective”.

Ammori’s comments were a reply to a post by a Bloomberg journalist who said British diplomats told the US that UK’s new Israeli settlements policy is “largely symbolic”.

Israeli opposition leader criticizes UK sanctions, blames Netanyahu’s government

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has called the UK sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank “grave and misguided”.

In a social media post, he blamed the Israeli government which he accused of leading Israel “to unprecedented diplomatic isolation and does nothing but issue rebukes and threats that no one takes seriously”.

Lapid said Netanyahu’s government is quarrelling “with the entire world” and didn’t know “how to handle foreign relations”.

Israel is due to hold elections in late October.

Israel says 12 UK politicians, including Jeremy Corbyn, barred over sanctions

Israel says it will deny entry to 12 British parliamentarians and officials if they attempt to visit as part of its retaliatory measures following the announcement of the UK sanctions.

The list includes Jeremy Corbyn, former Labour Party leader and a staunch advocate for Palestinians, as well as Zarah Sultana, Naz Shah, Diane Abbott, Hannah Spencer, Carla Denyer, Sian Berry, Elly Chowns, John McDonnell, Richard Burgon, and Adrian Ramsay.

Egypt welcomes UK sanctions on Israeli settlements

Egypt’s foreign ministry has said it welcomes the UK’s decision to ban goods imported from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

In a statement, the ministry said the UK position was in line with international law and helps counter illegal settlement activity.

“Egypt affirms that the continued expansion of settlements undermines the unity of the Palestinian territories and the possibility of establishing an independent and viable Palestinian state”, said the ministry.

UK sanctions ‘performative’ and fail to address complicity in Israeli war crimes under international law

Omar Barghouti, founding member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, says UK sanctions against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are “performative” and “intended for some political use”.

Barghouti told Al Jazeera that the UK action falls far short of meeting its legal obligations under international law.

“It is aiming to punish the crime – settlements are a war crime under international law – but not the criminal [Israel]. A serial criminal. The state that has built and maintained those settlements”, he said.

“Unless it ends its complicity by cutting all military, intelligence, trade, financial, academic, cultural relations that enable the occupation, the genocide and apartheid”, the UK will be complicit in Israeli actions, he added

Macron, Burnham, Carney say Israeli settlement expansion an ‘urgent threat’ to two-state solution

French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney have issued a joint statement stressing the need for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The leaders called a two-state solution “critical for peace, stability and security in the Middle East” and said it was in their national interests to pursue it.

They also said Israel’s “systematic settlement expansion in the West Bank” and “the dramatic increase in settler violence” are “a direct and urgent threat to that vision for peace”.

They called their coordinated action to ban goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank “a further turning point in our approach to protecting the two-state solution”.

UN welcomes collective move to restrict trade with illegal Israeli settlements

The UN human rights office has praised the plans by the 12 countries to introduce restrictions on trade in goods with illegal Israeli settlements.

“The seriousness of the situation in the West Bank calls for urgent and concrete measures,” said the spokesperson to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.

Jeremy Laurence said the action would contribute towards “ending the violence and occupation of the West Bank”.

British Palestinian Committee calls UK’s sanctions on Israeli settlements ‘necessary, overdue’

The British Palestinian Committee has said the UK’s announced sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are a “necessary and overdue step” that bring the UK “closer” to meeting its international law obligations.

“As Israel continues to colonize Palestinian land and kill, maim, torture and imprison Palestinians across Palestine on a daily basis, the UK government must demonstrate that this announcement represents a substantive change in policy that is enforceable and robust,” the British-Palestinian group said in a statement.

The statement added that the UK should go on to impose “comprehensive sanctions on the Israeli state” as well as “further targeted sanctions on Israeli ministers and officials responsible for grave violations of international law”, while backing “the prosecution of Israeli leaders wanted in The Hague for alleged war crimes”.

“Today’s announcement, while welcome, will ultimately be judged not by its rhetoric, but by its enforcement both within and beyond this current government,” said the statement.

Turkey urges more countries to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements

Turkey has welcomed measures taken by 12 countries to ban trade and business relations with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

In a statement, Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israel’s efforts to undermine the two-state solution were “intensifying with each passing day” and described illegal settlements as a “systematic policy of occupation” threatening the existence of a Palestinian state.

It also said “settler terrorism has reached the level of ethnic cleansing”.

Turkiye called on other members of the international community to take similar measures, saying a “firm response against Israel’s acts of occupation” was necessary to achieve a just and lasting peace.

The ministry reiterated Turkey's support for an independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Trade ban with Israeli settlements aims to save two-state solution: UK PM

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said his government’s decision to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank was made to safeguard a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“I will not stand by as the horrific suffering continues to grow and the prospect of a two-state solution – the best hope for peace and stability in the region – comes under attack,” Burnham said in an opinion article published by The Guardian.

The UK’s move, Burnham added, was “not aimed at the Israeli people, but at the unacceptable policies of the current Israeli government”.

Corbyn vows to ‘keep speaking up’ after Israel imposes entry ban

Former UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has criticised Israel’s decision to ban him and other British politicians from entering the country, saying he will continue to speak out for Palestinian rights.

In a statement shared with Al Jazeera, Corbyn said he had visited Palestine on several occasions and had “witnessed the horrors of occupation, as well as the resilience and humanity of the Palestinian people”.

“They are the ones who suffer from Israel’s apartheid,” he said, adding that Palestinians’ freedom was “egregiously curtailed”.

Corbyn also criticised Israel for denying entry to United Nations investigators and international journalists, saying: “Israel doesn’t want the world to see what it is doing – but we can never give up in our attempts to expose the truth.”

“Israel’s genocide cannot go unpunished – and I will keep speaking up for peace, freedom and justice for the Palestinian people,” he added.

Earlier we reported Israel has said it will deny entry to a group of British parliamentarians and officials as part of retaliatory measures following the UK’s announcement of sanctions. Those named include Corbyn, Zarah Sultana, Naz Shah, Diane Abbott, Hannah Spencer, Carla Denyer, Sian Berry, Ellie Chowns, John McDonnell, Richard Burgon and Adrian Ramsay.

Florida Congressman warns UK companies could be banned from state business over Israel boycott

US Congressman Randy Fine has warned that British companies complying with a potential UK boycott of Israeli settlement goods could be barred from doing business in Florida, citing a state anti-boycott law he authored.

In a post on X, Fine said the law would ban any British company forced to comply with the boycott from doing business with Florida state or local governments, including companies that need permits or tax-related interactions to operate.

Secretary Rubio refrains from condemning UK sanctions on Israeli settlements

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has not condemned the UK’s decision to impose sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements, taking a different stance from the US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckhabee who called the UK’s action “irrational”.

After saying that the Trump administration will “obviously not do what the UK did”, Rubio added that: “we share the goal of stability. We don’t wanna see an uptick in violence” in the occupied West Bank.

France and Canada are also taking action, as the UK says Palestinians face ethnic cleansing by Israeli settlers in parts of the occupied West Bank.