// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
UK announces sanctions on West Bank settlements prompting furious Israeli response
Watch: There is ethnic cleansing in areas of the West Bank, says Miliband
The UK has announced sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, accusing Israel's government of turning a blind eye to the "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians by settlers.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the move marked the "beginning of a new approach" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which "not only calls out injustice and suffering but acts".
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar responded by accusing him of spreading an "outrageous lie" and announced counter-measures including shutting the UK's consulate in East Jerusalem.
The UK sanctions will ban settlement goods but also act against companies and individuals providing services for settlement expansion.
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The sanctions were launched alongside France and Canada, who in a joint statement with the UK said the action "marks a further turning point in our approach to protecting the two-state solution".
Settlements are illegal under international law, and there has been a rise in violence towards Palestinians in the West Bank by settlers in recent months.
In a statement to MPs, Miliband said: "The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists.