Middle East live: Israel to close British consulate in Jerusalem after sanctions on settlements

08/09/2026 - 21:33

In numbers: More than 500,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements in the West Bank

More than 500,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements in the West Bank, among some three million Palestinians.

According to an AFP tally based on data from the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 1,105 Palestinians in the territory since the start of the Gaza war.

08/09/2026 - 21:31

Netanyahu vows to press ahead with 'E1' settlements

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue establishing the settlements -- illegal under international law.

The E1 plan -- approved by Israel last year after decades of being frozen -- would see 1,200 housing units built and further isolate Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.

The approval was widely condemned.

08/09/2026 - 21:20

US says underwater drone 'malfunctioned' after Iran claimed capture

The US military said Tuesday that one of its underwater drones "malfunctioned" more than a day earlier, after Iran said its forces captured an American unmanned submarine in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

"An underwater drone operated by US forces malfunctioned more than a day ago. It was surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations," US Central Command spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins said, without mentioning whether the device was seized by Iran.

08/09/2026 - 21:18

Houthis report Saudi reprisals after oil sites set ablaze in wave of strikes

The Houthis said Saudi Arabia retaliated with strikes on Tuesday after the group targeted oil facilities, wounding dozens, as deadly fighting reignited in Yemen after a Houthi offensive towards the Red Sea's Bab al-Mandab chokepoint.

The rapid round of strikes and counter-strikes follows the unravelling of a four-year truce between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government in July.

Analysts dispute the extent to which the Houthis are acting independently or following the wishes of their Iranian backers, but on Tuesday US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted that "behind some of this is clearly the Iranian hand".

On Thursday, the Houthis launched a campaign to seize territory near the Bab al-Mandab strait, an increasingly important route for Saudi oil after Iran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, choking Gulf exports.

The fighting has left more than 500 people dead, mostly combatants from both sides, according to an AFP tally based on sources from each camp.

08/09/2026 - 20:50

Netanyahu under fire over report UAE warned of October 7 attack

Israeli opposition leaders on Tuesday called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unfit to serve after a report that the United Arab Emirates had warned him before the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. Haaretz newspaper, in a report excerpted from a forthcoming book by its reporters, said UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke to Netanyahu a week and a half before the attack and told him that Hamas was planning a major operation. FRANCE 24's Monte Francis reports.

08/09/2026 - 20:16

Will the European intervention 'tilt the balance in favour of Netanyahu'?

“Whether the European intervention will tilt the balance in favour of Netanyahu, the far right, it’s difficult to say,” FRANCE 24’s international affairs editor Marc Perelman says.

“One thing is clear, it’s difficult for the Israeli opposition to say ‘this is great’ to have European sanctions on the west bank. Even if they don’t fully agree with Netanyahu it puts them in a corner because it’s difficult to welcome such foreign sanctions, especially from such close allies.”

08/09/2026 - 20:10

Israel FM says he called UK's Conservative opposition to praise anti-sanctions stance

Israel's foreign minister said on Tuesday he spoke to the leader of Britain's opposition Conservatives to thank the party for going against sanctions imposed by the UK government over settler violence.

"I thanked them for their firm opposition to the hostile Labour Government's announcement today and its series of anti-Israel policies since taking office," Gideon Saar wrote on X, saying he spoke to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat.

08/09/2026 - 19:41

'No warning' from UAE over October 7 attack, Netanyahu's office says

Israeli opposition leaders on Tuesday called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unfit to serve after a bombshell report that the United Arab Emirates had warned him before the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

 Haaretz newspaper, in a report excerpted from a forthcoming book by its reporters, said UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke to Netanyahu a week and a half before the attack and told him that Hamas was planning a major operation.

Netanyahu's office denied the report by the left-leaning newspaper, saying in a statement late Tuesday: "No warning was given to the Prime Minister from the United Arab Emirates before October 7th."

08/09/2026 - 19:37

UK chief rabbi says sanctions 'a dark day for British Jews'

Britain's chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, described the plans for sanctions as "a dark day for British Jews" and accused the UK government of "gesture politics".

"These measures will succeed only in bolstering the very extremism they seek to ​target," Mirvis wrote on X.

08/09/2026 - 18:37

Israeli settlements pose 'urgent threat' to two-state solution: Macron, Burnham and Carney

French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday that Israeli settlements in the occupeid West Bank undermined prospects for a two-state solution.

"Systematic settlement expansion in the West Bank, including the Government of Israel's latest decision to progress the E1 settlement, as well as the dramatic increase in settler violence, pose a direct and urgent threat to that vision for peace," the leaders said in a joint statement.

08/09/2026 - 18:35

What impact will sanctions have on Israel's economy?

The main produce from West Bank settlements is agricultural, including dates, citrus fruits, herbs and wine, and makes up only a tiny fraction of Israel's ​total exports.

Given the small volume of exports from the settlements, the trade bans are largely symbolic, and will not dent larger bilateral trade flows, but are part of wider efforts to reinforce support for the ​two-state solution.

08/09/2026 - 18:32

Rubio says sanctions could be 'destablising for the West Bank'

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the sanctions could be destabilizing for the West Bank, adding that Washington would not follow Britain, France and Canada in blocking imports from Israeli settlements.

08/09/2026 - 18:32

Corbyn demands sanctions include all arms sales and military cooperation with Israel

Former British Prime Minister Jeremy Corbyn said the sanctions on illegal settlements did not go far enough. He demanded Britain end arms sales, military cooperation, and what he called "all forms of support that sustain Israel’s system of apartheid, occupation and genocide".

08/09/2026 - 18:31

What type of goods and services are included in the ban?

The ban will take in imports of all goods from the settlements and bar companies from providing services for the settlements, including financing, construction, infrastructure, real estate and advertising, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said.

“I do not believe the British people want us supporting the occupation by accepting products from settlements in our shops and supermarkets," Miliband said.

The economic impact is likely to be limited, since the settlements produce only a small amount of largely agricultural exports. But the move is a symbolic expression of displeasure with Israel by some of its closest allies, and it offers a new sign of the Israeli government's growing isolation as a result of the Gaza war.

08/09/2026 - 18:04

Denmark, Portugal, Finland, Iceland and Sweden pledge to 'support further action'

The Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway have either banned goods from settlements or are in the process of doing so, Miliband said on Tuesday, while Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden have pledged to “support further action”.

08/09/2026 - 17:51

UK ban on goods from Israeli settlements 'evidence of Netanyahu's failure'

British foreign minister Ed Miliband accused the Israeli government on Tuesday of turning a "blind eye" to what he called "ethnic cleansing" by settlers in the West Bank. Miliband told parliament the UK government would introduce "an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories", in a move coordinated with other countries. Jordana Miller, ABC correspondent in Jerusalem, told FRANCE 24 that the ban was evidence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's failure to rein in the far-right elements of his government that has facilitated the growth of settlements.

08/09/2026 - 17:45

Israel to bar entry to 12 British nationals, including ex-PM Jeremy Corbyn

The Israeli foreign ministry issued a list of 12 British nationals who will be refused entry if they seek to visit. They include Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour Party leader and outspoken Palestinian advocate, as well as Zarah Sultana, who joined Corbyn in breaking away from Labour to form the left-wing Your Party.

Also on the ban list is Diane Abbott, a Labour MP who came under fire for remarks downplaying the extent of antisemitism and was admitted back into the party under Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

08/09/2026 - 17:35

Canada FM says 'illegal settlements undermine two-state solution'

"Successive Canadian governments have held the position that a two-state solution is the way forward for long-term peace that also addresses Israel's legitimate security concerns. Illegal settlements in the West Bank significantly undermine these objectives," Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand wrote on X.

08/09/2026 - 17:31

• Israel to close Britain's consulate in East Jerusalem in response to sanctions on settlements
• France and 10 other countries join UK to ban goods from Israeli settlements
• Israel to bar entry to 12 British nationals, including ex-PM Jeremy Corbyn

08/09/2026 - 17:31

France backs sanctions citing 'frenzied expansion' of settlements and 'flare up of violence'

France, also introducing a ban on West Bank products, cited the "frenzied expansion" of settlements there and a "flare up of violence" as the reasons for it taking action.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)