A growing coalition of Western governments is moving from condemnation to concrete measures against Israeli settlements, raising questions about Israel’s international standing and the future of its policies in the West Bank and Gaza.
Israel recently received a shocking and unprecedented blow with the announcement of a coalition of 12 Western countries intending to impose restrictions on “trade in goods with illegal settlements” in the West Bank. The countries include the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Spain, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden, in addition to the Netherlands and Belgium, which had previously announced similar measures.
The significance of this announcement, beyond delegitimizing Israeli settlements in the West Bank, lies in the fact that it comes from European or Western-aligned countries that have long been considered supporters of Israel. Britain, in particular, the mother of the Zionist project in Palestine according to the Balfour Declaration (1917), is leading this campaign alongside France and Canada. The announcement marks a shift by Western countries from politically and rhetorically condemning Israel to taking practical and punitive measures as part of their pressure on Israel to establish a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.
The importance of this step also stems from its timing, coming just before the Israeli elections and serving as a wake-up call to Israeli voters about the need to curb the extremist policies of the government led by Netanyahu, Smotrich, and Ben Gvir. It also comes amid tensions between the Trump administration and Netanyahu’s government, threatening to further isolate Israel. The move is a direct response to the Israeli government’s decision to proceed with the settlement project in Area E1, near Jerusalem.
The most significant implication of this step is that it forms part of a broader context of delegitimizing Israel politically, legally, and morally because of its colonial, settlement, racist, and genocidal policies toward the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank. This opens the door to a decline in Israel’s international standing, not only among societies that have expressed their opposition through massive demonstrations in Western capitals and cities over the past two years, but also among governments increasingly feeling the pressure of public opinion and the burden of Israel’s political, security, economic, and ethical issues.
The erosion of Israel’s position and its delegitimization can be traced back to the outbreak of the first Palestinian Intifada (1987–1993), known as the “Children of the Stones” uprising. This period exposed Israel as a colonial and racist state, breaking its monopoly on the role of the victim in global public opinion more than any previous period in its history. This was further reinforced by Israel’s abandonment of the Oslo Accords (1993) and its insistence on dominating the Palestinians by all means from the river to the sea for more than three decades.
This trend has strengthened, deepened, and expanded with the brutal war Israel has waged against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, ongoing for nearly three years. The war has revealed Israel’s character as a state of genocide against people, trees, and stones. This has extended to the West Bank in other forms, with settler gangs mobilized against defenseless Palestinians in their cities, villages, and farms, similar to the situation in cities, towns, and villages in southern Lebanon today.
Israel’s reaction to the Western countries’ stance has been extremely arrogant and audacious. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that Israel would close the British consulate in Jerusalem in response to the UK’s sanctions on settlements and other measures. Sa’ar even went so far as to label Britain, which issued the Balfour Declaration (1917), an anti-Semitic and anti-Israel state.
Meanwhile, the extremist Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to respond to Britain’s “audacity” by closing “the British consulate in Jerusalem that works for the Palestinian Authority,” in his view. Another extremist, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, called for the expulsion of the British ambassador from Israel, stating, “We will not be a doormat for an anti-Semitic government,” and adding, “The British Mandate over Israel is over.”
British Foreign Minister Ed Miliband, explaining the decision before the House of Commons on August 8, 2026, accused the Israeli government of “turning a blind eye” to “ethnic cleansing” perpetrated by terrorist settlers in the West Bank. He also stated that his government’s “official stance” is that “the occupation is illegal.” It is worth noting that the United Kingdom officially recognized the State of Palestine last September under Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Additionally, Britain’s shift toward supporting Palestinian rights appears to be an attempt to compensate for the injustices it caused Palestinians by creating a “national home for the Jews” at their expense in their land in the early 20th century, facilitated during its mandate over Palestine.
It is worth remembering that this global shift in public opinion, among both societies and governments, against Israel’s colonial, racist, and genocidal policies now includes Jewish communities in Western countries, including the United States. The problem for Palestinians and Arabs in general is their inability to capitalize on this shift given their current circumstances.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Annahar.
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