More than 80 former British diplomats, including 60 ambassadors, high commissioners, and senior officials, have urged the United Kingdom and its allies to take stronger action against Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, warning that current policies are paving the way for annexation and undermining international law.
In a letter published in the Financial Times, the former diplomats said Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestinian territories amount to “accelerating annexation.” They warned that while global attention is focused on regional conflicts involving Iran and Lebanon, Israel is continuing to tighten control over the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The signatories argued that repeated international criticism without consequences has emboldened Israeli governments to keep expanding settlements and weakening prospects for a two-state solution. They called for practical steps rather than rhetorical condemnation.
Among the measures proposed were warning companies involved in settlement construction that their commercial interests in the UK could be at risk, banning trade in settlement goods and services, and suspending trade concessions under the UK-Israel trade agreement over alleged human rights breaches.
The letter was signed by several prominent former diplomats, including former British consul-general in Jerusalem Vincent Fean, along with former ambassadors to the United States, the United Nations, and other senior envoys.
The diplomats stressed that without meaningful consequences, what they described as unlawful policies would continue unchecked, increasing tensions and making a peaceful resolution between Israelis and Palestinians more difficult to achieve.
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