British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Tuesday defended his government’s sweeping new measures targeting Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, including a ban on goods produced there, sanctions against individuals and businesses, and a formal declaration that Britain considers Israel’s presence in Palestinian-claimed territory unlawful.

Burnham insisted that the moves are aimed at the policies of Israel’s government and not at Israelis themselves, saying Britain could no longer remain passive if it hopes to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution.

“Today we are announcing carefully judged, targeted steps that are not aimed at the Israeli people, but at the unacceptable policies of the current Israeli government,” he wrote.

Under the new policy, Britain will bar imports from what it terms “illegal settlements,” formally adopt the position that “the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful,” and sanction people and companies accused of assisting, financing or benefiting from Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.

Burnham said companies and investors connected to planned construction in the E1 area will also be subject to the sanctions.

In defending the decision, Burnham contended that “settlement construction” is increasingly jeopardizing the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state. He pointed to the authorization of 104 new communities since Israel’s current government took office in December 2022 and cited UN figures reporting more than 1,500 incidents of violence by Israeli civilians against Palestinian Arabs this year.

Burnham singled out Israel’s move to permit construction tenders in E1 ahead of the October elections, arguing that development in the strategically located area would make a future Palestinian state increasingly difficult to establish.

“This would cut a swathe through the heart of the West Bank – snuffing out the hope of realising a two-state solution. It cannot be allowed to happen,” he wrote.

Alongside the sanctions and trade restrictions, the British government is unveiling additional humanitarian assistance for Gaza. Burnham pointed to the devastation there, saying more than 70,000 people, including at least 20,000 children, have been killed, millions have been displaced, and Gaza’s population has been pushed into roughly one-third of the territory.

“The suffering of the Palestinian people is a scar on the conscience of the world,” Burnham wrote, while emphasizing that he continues to condemn both Hamas and its October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.

“I have condemned the monstrous terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 in the strongest possible terms – and continue to condemn Hamas. However, it does not justify the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza or the West Bank.”

Burnham maintained that the measures should not be viewed as sanctions against Israel itself. Rather, he said, they are designed to pressure the Israeli government while avoiding punishment of Israelis who disagree with its policies.

“The Israeli people are not responsible for the actions of their government. And nor is the Jewish community in the UK. Blaming British Jews for the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is wrong, plain and simple. And it is antisemitism, plain and simple.”

The prime minister said he met with representatives of the British Jewish community last week and assured them that his government remains committed to fighting antisemitism and protecting Jewish citizens.

Burnham portrayed the measures as an attempt to keep alive the prospect of Israelis and Palestinian Arabs eventually living peacefully and securely alongside one another, saying that goal continues to have broad support in Britain.

“We are taking these steps because it is the right thing to do,” wrote Burnham.

Israel responded with a series of retaliatory steps. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that Israel will shutter the British Consulate in Jerusalem and impose additional measures against British activities and representatives.

Sa’ar said the response, approved in coordination with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, followed what he characterized as a succession of anti-Israel actions taken by Britain’s Labour government.

Israel’s countermeasures include closing the British Consulate in Jerusalem, expelling British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat, ending a British program that trains Palestinian Authority forces in Judea and Samaria through the “British Support Team in Ramallah,” and barring 12 British elected officials and other British nationals accused of antisemitic or anti-Israel activity or of denying Israel’s right to exist.

UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis also issued a forceful denunciation of the British government’s decision, warning that sanctions directed at Jews living in Judea and Samaria marked “a dark day for British Jews.”

“This is truly a dark day for British Jews,” Mirvis said. “Today our Government has chosen to ignore the deep concerns expressed by so many of us.”

The Chief Rabbi charged that rather than advancing prospects for peace, the government’s actions give greater legitimacy to hostile anti-Israel rhetoric.