JORDAN'S KING CALLS ISRAELI WEST BANK EXPANSION A WAR CRIME

Jordan's King Abdullah II has described Israeli settler expansion in the occupied West Bank as "forced displacement" that should be treated as a war crime, according to comments made public this week. The remarks follow bans on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank imposed this month by the United Kingdom, France and Canada, joining Spain and Ireland, which acted earlier. Israel responded to the UK's move by barring 11 British MPs from Israeli-controlled territories and closing its consulate in Jerusalem, according to reports. Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, visited the West Bank and called settler violence an "act of terror."

Huckabee also said he opposed the trade bans, calling them discrimination against Jewish people, and accused UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who is Jewish, of "Jew hate." Those behind the bans cited increasing settler violence in the West Bank and the International Court of Justice's 2024 advisory opinion, which found Israel's continued presence in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza unlawful under international law. That opinion echoed the UN Security Council's 1967 Resolution 242, which called for Israeli forces to withdraw from occupied territory. The bans cover West Bank settlements but not East Jerusalem or the Golan Heights, and the five countries continue trading with Israel itself.

Campaigners for the boycott say trade in settlement products has breached international law regardless of the new bans. The closure of the Jerusalem consulate and the ban on the 11 MPs mark a deterioration in relations between Israel and the UK. King Abdullah's comments add Jordan, which borders the West Bank, to the list of governments criticising Israeli settlement policy. Neither Israel nor Jordan has announced further action.