The UK government is expanding its sanctions powers to target entities that enable illegal Israeli settlements, obstruct humanitarian aid, or unlawfully hold prisoners. This move comes as part of a new global human rights and international humanitarian law sanctions regime, which introduces three new grounds for sanctions: serious violations of international humanitarian law, obstruction of humanitarian assistance, and serious violations of the right to liberty and security of person.

Key Developments

The new sanctions will address unlawful settlement activity by capturing breaches of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Convention on occupation. In response to these developments, the Israeli government closed the UK consulate last week, leading to the withdrawal of 21 diplomats and a downgrade of the consulate's status to that of a mission. However, this action has not deterred the UK government from proceeding with the sanctions.

Scope of the New Powers

The proposed sanctions extend beyond direct perpetrators of wrongdoing to include those who:

  • Facilitate, incite, promote, or support qualifying conduct
  • Provide finance, goods, or technology for such conduct
  • Conceal evidence of wrongdoing or benefit from it

This means that banks and commercial entities could also be targeted, as designation only requires reasonable grounds to suspect involvement. The sanctions measures will include:

  • Asset freezes
  • Prohibitions on making funds or economic resources available
  • Travel bans
  • Director disqualifications

A new urgent procedure will allow ministers to mirror designations already made by the EU, US, Canada, or Australia for up to 112 days while a specific UK case is prepared.