The UK’s sanctions on Israeli settlements are a great victory – but must be only the beginning | Em Hilton
The change in policy is a direct result of sustained pressure from activists and organisers across the Palestine movement. But what comes next?The announcement on Tuesday by the foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, of an import ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as a comprehensive sanctions regime, is a hard-won victory for the Palestine solidarity movement.This is not simply a change of heart by the government: it is a direct result of sustained pressure from activists and organisers across the Palestine movement, who have consistently held the government’s feet to the fire over its complicity in the atrocities being committed in Gaza and the West Bank. Miliband’s announcement shows us what organised and persistent campaigning can achieve, and inspires confidence that movements can force political change.Em Hilton is a Jewish writer and organiser. She is the co-founder of Na’amod: UK Jews Against Israeli Occupation, and the policy director at Diaspora Alliance Continue reading...