Amman: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates on Tuesday welcomed the British government's decision to ban imported goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and restrict financial services supporting settlement expansion.
According to Jordan News Agency, the ministry spokesperson Fuad Majali lauded the UK's move as an "essential step" to uphold international law, calling it a "direct" effort to counter illegal settlement activity, settler violence, and measures threatening the two-state solution. Majali stated that the UK ban aligns with UN Security Council Resolution 2334 and the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion, both of which deem Israel's occupation and settlement expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.
In a related context, the ministry also commended British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband for condemning extremist Israeli government rhetoric, rejecting attempts to force Palestinian displacement, and warning that actions in parts of the West Bank amount to "ethnic cleansing." Urging the "broader" international community to follow suit, Majali called for turning commitment of international law and UN resolutions into "practical" measures, which would halt illegal settlement activities and strengthen efforts to protect rights of the Palestinian people and prospects for achieving a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution.
He reiterated the Kingdom's "unwavering" position in working with its Arab countries and international partners to support the Palestinian people's right to freedom, end the Israeli occupation, achieve all their legitimate rights, and establish their independent and sovereign state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.