UK sanctions target West Bank winery, owner vows to stay and expand
Britain's ban on West Bank settlement exports hits Psagot winery, whose co-founder Yaakov Berg says the loss of about $1 million in UK sales won’t stop them from operating.
Britain announced trade curbs on products originating from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, joining France and Canada in condemning settler violence and labeling the settlements illegal under international law. The measures affect exporters like Psagot winery, founded by Yaakov Berg about two decades ago in the settlement of Shaar Binyamin, which ships roughly 60 % of its output worldwide, including around $1 million to the UK each year.
Berg told reporters the sanctions will cause only a modest sales dip and vowed to stay, grow more vineyards, and construct additional housing on the land. He dismissed the ban as “stupid and really cruel,” accusing the UK of antisemitism and saying the decision will hurt English consumers more than the winery. The sanctions come as settlement construction accelerates under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, raising concerns about the viability of a two-state solution. Nearby Palestinian villages such as Mikhmas have experienced settler attacks, and a Bedouin community was recently displaced.
Why it matters
The sanctions illustrate growing international pressure on Israeli settlements and could reshape trade and political dynamics in the region.
How this story developed
- Aug 27 Israeli airstrikes kill three Palestinians in Gaza amid ongoing ceasefire
- Sep 7 Ed Miliband said Britain would ban goods from West Bank settlements and sanction firms supporting settlement expansion, citing evidence of war crimes and the need for a two-state solution. Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis warned the policy could increase anti-Semitic attacks on the UK Jewish community. Conservative minister Kemi Badenoch and other Tory leaders accused Labour of political posturing that could strain relations with Israel and the United States.
- Sep 7 Ed Miliband indicated the UK will announce the settlement trade ban this week.
- Sep 7 Britain plans to introduce extensive economic restrictions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including a trade ban on settlement-produced goods.
- Sep 8 The UK government announced a fast‑track plan to ban imports from Israeli settlements.
- Sep 8 Netanyahu publicly alleged that officials deliberately kept him asleep on Oct. 7.
- Sep 8 Israel closed the UK consulate in East Jerusalem and barred British MPs and officials from entering Israel.
- Sep 8 US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee suggested the Trump administration could retaliate against Britain over its new trade sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements.
- Sep 8 Canada and a dozen European countries announced coordinated bans on settlement products.
- Sep 8 Sara Netanyahu announced a libel lawsuit against Yair Golan over claims of his prior knowledge of the Oct. 7 attacks.
- Sep 9 UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese called the UK settlement trade ban a tentative step and urged broader sanctions.
- Sep 9 UK joined eleven other countries in imposing a ban on West Bank settlement products.
- Sep 9 The sanctions were announced immediately before the start of Rosh Hashanah.
- Sep 9 Netanyahu faces mounting internal and international pressure ahead of the October Knesset election as the United Kingdom prepares sanctions on West Bank goods.
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