London can build a coalition of middle powers to safeguard Palestinian statehood by conditioning trade agreements with Tel Aviv and sanctioning settlers.
According to Atlas Diplomacy, a policy paper titled “Britain’s Roadmap to Curb Israeli Settlement Expansion and Preserve a Palestinian State” by Julie Norman has been published in Chatham House. The paper argues that while the UK’s ban on trade with Israeli settlements marks an important shift in London’s Middle East policy, achieving durable impact requires broader punitive and diplomatic measures against settlement expansion. Below is a summary of the piece.
The British government’s September 2026 decision to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied territories represents a meaningful shift in UK foreign policy grounded in international law. However, turning this moral and legal stance into tangible results requires a well-defined plan coordinated with like-minded middle powers to preserve the viability of an independent Palestinian state.
The upcoming Knesset elections offer London a strategic opportunity to send a clear message to Tel Aviv. Britain must make clear that it will only support an Israeli government willing to take concrete steps toward ending the occupation of land designated for a Palestinian state; otherwise, Tel Aviv will face mounting economic and political pressure from foreign partners.
Beyond banning settlement goods and services, the British government should revoke visa-free travel and Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) eligibility for residents of Israeli settlements. Furthermore, any future trade agreements with Israel should be conditioned on halting settlement expansion, curbing settler violence, releasing tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority, and agreeing on a Gaza withdrawal plan sequenced with the verified decommissioning of weapons by Hamas.
Alongside pressure mechanisms, London should use its diplomatic convening power to advance informal Track 2 dialogues and backchannels between Israelis and Palestinians to revise the two-state model in line with current realities. Supporting free and fair elections across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as soon as feasible is also a necessary condition for establishing a legitimate governing authority in Palestine./ منبع
