Britain must sanction Israel, not just its settlers

What the report says

In an opinion piece for Al Jazeera published on 30 October 2026, Clive Lewis, a Labour MP for Norwich South, says he and two other British parliamentarians were detained and questioned by Israeli forces for nearly eight hours when they tried to enter the occupied West Bank as part of an observer delegation. He says they were then blocked from crossing, and frames the incident as part of a broader effort to prevent outside scrutiny of conditions in the West Bank and Gaza.

Lewis argues that violence in the occupied territories is not limited to individual settlers but is enabled by Israeli state policy. He links the West Bank situation to the war in Gaza, references attacks on olive harvesters, home demolitions and restrictions on journalists, and says Britain should broaden sanctions beyond settlers to include companies and entities that support settlements, as well as officials involved in actions against Palestinians.

The article comes shortly after the UK announced new sanctions tied to illegal West Bank settlements. Lewis welcomes that shift but says it is too limited and too slow to implement. He also calls for tighter restrictions on arms-related transfers to Israel, including components and training-related licences he says still help sustain military operations. Separately, he urges sanctions over the blocking of humanitarian aid to Gaza and says international law requires states to help end support for the occupation.