UK House of Commons Library publishes briefing on UK West Bank sanctions

15 September 2026

The House of Commons Library has published a research briefing on the UK measures announced in September 2026 on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The briefing says that:

• The Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, told the Commons on 8 September that the UK will create a new sanctions regime covering trade with the settlements, with religious exemptions.

• The regime will ban imports of goods from settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and services supporting settlement expansion such as construction, infrastructure, financing and real estate.

• The import ban will apply by geographical area rather than to named people, and will rest on postcode declarations.

• Importers must show that their goods do not come from settlements, and HMRC, the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation and the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation will monitor compliance.

• The government expects the legislation to be in place within 6 to 9 months.

• The global human rights sanctions regime will be amended to allow faster action on settlement expansion, with changes expected within weeks.

• The UK will refuse licence applications for arms and other exports that materially contribute to the occupation.

More sanctions-related briefings are on our UK legislative materials page.