The UAE and seven other Arab and Muslim countries have welcomed the UK government’s decision to ban imports of goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and impose sanctions on services linked to the settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.In response to the UK's decision, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said his country will close the UK consulate in East Jerusalem. The move is a major escalation of the diplomatic breakdown between Israel and some of its most important Western allies.In a joint statement on Wednesday, the foreign ministers of the UAE, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia said they hoped the UK's measures would encourage other countries to take similar steps in line with international law and hold accountable organisations and individuals involved in illegal settlement activities.The ministers also welcomed a joint statement by the foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK, which expressed an intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods from settlements deemed illegal under international law.They urged the international community to build on these measures and adopt concrete steps to end activities that support or sustain Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.T...
This page contains an attributed headline and the preview text supplied through the publisher’s RSS feed. Copyright in the original reporting belongs to The National.
