UK announces sanctions on West Bank settlements prompting furious Israeli response

Figure caption, 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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