(JTA) — The British Labour Party’s shadow foreign secretary called for a ban on importing goods from Jewish settlements if Israel annexes parts of the West Bank.
Lisa Nandy told The Observer magazine that such a boycott of West Bank goods would be a “major step.” But she said action will be necessary because “such a blatant breach of international law must have consequences.”
Her proposal is backed by Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, who was elected party head in April to replace Jeremy Corbyn, who was accused of allowing blatant anti-Semitism to permeate the party under his leadership. Nandy is the head of Labour Friends of Palestine.
“The proposal to unilaterally annex nearly a third of the West Bank is an illegal act which will undermine the prospect of a peaceful two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, and has serious implications for the stability of the Middle East,” Nandy said in an interview published Saturday in The Observer, a part of The Guardian daily newspaper.
“It is a shameful proposition to which the UK cannot be a silent witness. Across the world concern is growing … So far the UK government has been conspicuously absent from this global response.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who heads the Conservative Party, told members of Parliament earlier this month that his government “strongly objected” to the annexation plan.
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