British opposition party blasts anti-Israel sanctions, pledges to nix trade ban

Deputy leader of Britain’s Reform Party denounces PM Andy Burnham’s trade ban with Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria, calling move “a catastrophe” and vowing to reverse the sanctions if Reform UK wins next election.

By World Israel News Staff

Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice has pledged that his party would reverse Britain’s new sanctions targeting Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria if it comes to power, warning that the measures could damage Britain’s security relationships with both Israel and the United States.

Tice, speaking with Israel Hayom after the Labour government announced restrictions on trade connected to Israeli settlements, described the policy as “wrong on so many levels” and said its consequences could extend well beyond the relatively small amount of trade directly affected.

Reform UK would “reverse the sanctions” if it entered government, Tice said.

The British measures include plans to prohibit imports of goods produced in Israeli settlements and impose restrictions on companies and individuals involved in settlement construction, infrastructure, financing and real estate.

Britain announced the move alongside a broader group of countries backing national or European restrictions on settlement trade. France and Canada have also committed to bans, while Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden joined a statement supporting or considering similar measures.

The Labour government says the policy is intended to preserve the possibility of a future Palestinian state amid continued Israeli settlement construction, including plans for development in the E1 area between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband warned companies and individuals involved in settlement expansion that they could face the “full force of UK sanctions.”

Prime Minister Andy Burnham defended the policy in Parliament Wednesday, saying Britain needed to “stand against injustice” and back Palestinians he said were being forced from their homes.

In response, Israel ordered Britain to close its consulate in eastern Jerusalem within 30 days, barred 12 British politicians from entering the country, ordered British personnel out of Israeli-Palestinian coordination facilities and ended British participation in training Palestinian Authority security forces.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accused London of interfering in Israeli domestic politics ahead of Israel’s October 27 general election.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee described the sanctions as discriminatory, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Washington did not want to see actions that could further destabilize Judea and Samaria.

Tice argued that the fallout could also undermine intelligence cooperation that Britain relies upon to prevent terrorist attacks.

Reform UK said separately that the sanctions were “self-destructive virtue-signaling that will make us less safe,” arguing that Britain was weakening ties with two of its most important security partners.

Tice has also claimed that Labour’s decision could contribute to antisemitism in Britain by encouraging people hostile to Jews to interpret government action against Israel as legitimizing their own hostility.

The argument has become a major point of dispute between Labour and its critics.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis called the sanctions announcement “a truly dark day for British Jews” and warned that hostile actors could exploit the government’s decision.

Miliband rejected the suggestion that sanctions against Israeli policy should be equated with hostility toward British Jews. He said British Jews were not responsible for decisions made by Israel’s government and that political leaders had a responsibility to maintain that distinction.

Tice sided with Mirvis, arguing that the chief rabbi better understood the security concerns facing Britain’s Jewish community.

MP Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that a government under his leadership would “undo the damage” done by Labour to Britain’s relationship with Israel.

A day earlier, Farage spoke with Sa’ar in a bid to minimize the damage to ties between the two countries, while urging Israel not to back Argentina’s claims to the Falkland Islands.

The dispute comes amid a highly competitive political environment in Britain. Reform UK and Labour were tied at 23% in a recent YouGov poll, although another YouGov survey found substantially more public support than opposition for the settlement sanctions themselves.

That survey found 52% of respondents backed the government’s decision, while 17% opposed it. Reform voters were the only major party group in which opponents clearly outnumbered supporters.

Tice accused Labour of allowing domestic electoral considerations to shape its Middle East policy, arguing that the party was seeking to recover voters who had moved toward the Greens while appealing to Muslim voters.

Reform UK has increasingly positioned itself as one of Israel’s strongest political supporters in Britain.

Party leader Nigel Farage told Reform’s conference last week that his party would “support the State of Israel, its right to exist,” while arguing that Israel faces enemies seeking its destruction.

Tice also said a Reform government would designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization and take action against organizations it believes are linked to the Muslim Brotherhood or provide support for terrorism under charitable cover.

The sanctions dispute has intensified an already deteriorating relationship between London and Jerusalem.

The previous Labour government under Keir Starmer recognized a Palestinian state in 2025, suspended some arms export licenses to Israel and halted negotiations on a new free-trade agreement.

The direct economic effect of the latest trade measures could be limited because settlement products account for only a small share of Israeli exports. However, Israeli agricultural and wine producers in Judea and Samaria have warned that losing access to European markets could seriously harm individual businesses.

BritainReform UKRichard Tice