Imposing trade sanctions designed to target Israeli settlements may run the risk of damaging the NHS, the government has been warned.
The concern has been raised as an embargo of the West Bank is believed to be under consideration by the UK government for possible implementation later in the year.
It is feared that the practical difficulty in separating goods and services produced by the settlements and East Jerusalem from the rest of Israel would in effect block many exports from the entirety of the Jewish state.
The unintended consequence could include a threat to vital supplies to the NHS, including the large percentage of prescription drugs that come from Israel. Seeking out alternative pharmaceuticals from other sources could force the health service into paying out billions of pounds extra from taxpayer coffers.
The chair of Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), Greg Smith, told the JC that ministers ought to “tread carefully” given the potential for adverse domestic impact on Britain for the imposition of trade restrictions. He warned: “We could find out that Britain has a lot more to lose from these economic restrictions than Israel.”
The speculation that the UK may impose some kind of trade embargo follows other countries in Europe going forward with similar measures, including the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland.
Such sanctions are believed to be under active consideration by the government of new prime minister Andy Burnham and particularly recently installed Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.
It is possible the timing of any such move may be delayed until after the Israeli general election on October 27.
The potential impact of blanket measures targeting all Israeli settlements was raised in a report by Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) last week.
In it, the group cautioned the government that a boycott of all trade with Israeli settlements over the Green Line would be “practically and politically impossible”.
It added that such measures would “impact all Israeli businesses operating in the settlement blocs, as well as East Jerusalem and the Old City, where major Israeli businesses such as Bank Hapoalim and [Israeli pharmaceutical company] Teva operate.”
The report further warned about the risk of companies inadvertently over-complying and “adversely affecting Israelis living within the state’s borders” and cautioning that: “A settlement boycott would thus become a de facto boycott of all of Israel.” In a submission to the House of Lords in 2023, Teva said it provided one in seven of all prescription medicines dispensed in the UK. It claims that its generic medicines save the NHS around £2.4 billion every year.
The government has yet to announce what measures to target Israeli settlements, but then-Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer told the Commons’ Foreign Affairs Select Committee last month that it was in “discussion with partners, including those few countries who have explored how a ban on settlement trade might work”.
He also told the committee that he took “seriously” the concerns of British Jews about the unintended consequences of “blunt” measures aimed at targeting Israeli settlements.
Also last month, then-trade minister Chris Bryant alluded to potential issues with more wide-ranging punitive actions, saying that he wanted any measures introduced to be “enforceable” and “effective” and “not have unintended consequences”.
Yvette Cooper, the previous foreign secretary, suggested that the government was looking to link measures targeting Israeli settlements to increased settlement expansion, in particular around the E1 block.
To get more Politics news, click here to sign up for our free politics newsletter.