UK sanctions Israeli settlements in West Bank

0:00This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. This message is for all of you who take your barbecuing seriously. Yes, I'm talking to 99.9% of all Aussies. Apologies to the 0.1% of you who might find this a bit boring. But if you want to take your barbecuing to the next level, you need to know about outdoor grilling equipment from Made In. The company that supplies many of the world's most famous chefs. Their carbon steel griddle, for example, is a professional grade griddle that turns an ordinary barbecue into a large restaurant-style flat top. It's perfect for snags, steaks, veggies, fish, and breakfast foods like pancakes and eggs and bacon. Par it with the Made In Grill press and it can even make mouth-watering smash burgers just like you'll find in your favourite restaurants. So if you want to up your barbecuing game and who doesn't, do what the pros do. Barbecue with Made In. Go to MadeInCookware.com.au for 10% off your first order of $149 or more.

1:01That's M-A-D-E-I-N-Cookware.com.au. This is Ashley Akinetti from the Almost Amused Podcast. You ever notice you and your spouse keep saying, we need to get away, but you never actually plan anything. That was us until we did something fun and spontaneous. We went to ResortPass.com. There are hundreds of hotel resorts, pools and spots and private beaches that you can enjoy. You can spend the day at a luxury resort, pool, spa, massage, without booking an overnight stay. And listen, I may have only been like 15 minutes from home, but it felt like it was a whole different world. And I'm thinking this is exactly what I needed. So just go to ResortPass.com. Choose your resort. Choose your day. Luxury Resort Day Passes start at just $1,000. Once you post your daycation, people are going to ask where you are. Go to ResortPass.com, slash Almost Famous and use the promo code Almost Famous to get $20 off when you spend $100. That's code Almost Famous at ResortPass.com slash Almost Famous.

2:12You're listening to News Hour Live from the BBC World Service in London with me, Gary O'Donnell-Hugh. We begin in Britain with the UK government and its announcement that it's in posing sanctions linked to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The move follows Israel's decision to open the bidding for more than 1,000 new homes in the E1 area, a strategically sensitive tract of land, east of Jerusalem, the Britain and other allies say effectively cuts the West Bank in half. It accuses Israel more generally of expanding Jewish settlements in order to jeopardize any chance of a future two-state solution. The measures are designed to target individuals and businesses connected to settlement activity, but also more generally to send a message about growing concern in London over the pace of expansion. The British government is describing the move as part of a comprehensive reset of UK-Israel relations.

3:12And today, 11 other countries, including France and Canada, announced their intention to introduce similar restrictions. In the past hour, as so Britain's foreign secretary, Ed Miliband addressing the House of Commons, he began by describing himself as a proud Jew before going on to explain the rationale behind the announcement. Today, I announce that the official view of the British government is that the occupation is unlawful. Because of Israel's entrenchment of its control, its intention to extend permanent sovereignty and its expansionist agenda via illegal settlements. Madam Deputy Speaker, our position is not just an overdue statement of reality. The government believes the unlawfulness of the occupation should be reflected in the economic relationships we choose to have with the occupied territories. I do not believe the British people want us supporting the occupation by accepting products from settlements in our shops and supermarkets. So I can announce today that we will introduce

4:13an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories. To do so, we will introduce a new comprehensive sanctions regime working with my right hon. Friend the Business Secretary with appropriate religious exemptions. And as part of this regime, we will go further. We will take action against specific companies and individuals who provide services, such as construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate for settlement expansion. So to those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this, you will face the full force of UK sanctions. Yes. The British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, well, Israel has threatened retaliation. And the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, says repercussions for UK-US trade are a very real possibility. And I just don't think maybe the Brits are thinking through the implications of this policy they're about to enact. Are they willing to stop doing business with a number of US states in which they currently have commerce?

5:15Because that's what's going to happen. Not to mention there will be many other Israeli British partnerships that are going to be forbidden. I'm not sure what the end game here is. I don't understand what is the purpose of this. Have they thought through what the implications are for the people of Great Britain? That's the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, and we'll be hearing more from him later on in New Zealand. We asked the British Foreign Office for an interview, but no one was available to speak to us. Emily Thornbury is the Labour MP and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee in Parliament. She supports the government's plans on this issue. Speaking before the announcement, she told my colleague Nick Robinson why the move was necessary. The far right government of Israel has expressly said that they want to snuff out any chance of a Palestinian state. We recognize Palestine, along with many other countries we did a year ago. And it isn't just enough just to recognize Palestine.

6:16You have to do everything that you can to protect the possibility of a Palestinian state. The Israelis are not going anywhere. The Palestinians are not going anywhere. The only way that they can live in peace is by having two states alongside one another. That is the way in which you get a safe and secure Israel and justice for Palestinians. But the far right government is trying to get rid of it. And we have to stand up to it. But the problem with the argument is this, isn't it? It suggests that anybody in Israel is going to listen. The truth is Benjamin Nightingale, who will not just not listen, it may in fact fuel his campaign. He's running for a re-election in a few weeks' time. He and his allies will say, there we are, the world's against us. It's the old Millwall cry, everyone hates us. We don't care. We won't change a thing, will it? I don't think that's right. I think that the certainly there are some people who think in the way that Nightingale who does in Israel. But Israel is a democracy with many different views. And I think there are a large number of people in Israel who do not want their country to be a purifier state,

7:16do not want to be marginalized, and who want to be mainstream, and who don't believe that the way the government is going is right, and indeed the government is behind in the polls. So I think to equate the, as I say, the extremism of Nightingale who, with the whole of Israel, is just not to do Israel a proper service at all. We just heard another possible risk, a risk to Britain's trading relationships with Israel as a whole that we might lose trade, for example, pharmaceuticals made in Israel, or the America, either federally or at state level may punish British companies for the fact that we're sanctioning their friends and allies in Israel. So we have a trade deal with Israel at the moment where we give preferential treatments to Israel to goods coming from Israel proper, but not from the West Bank. And the Israelis have signed up to that. And so they recognize there is a difference between the occupied territories and Israel proper. I mean, as I understand it, the government is going to change the way in which we trade with Israel. They continue to give preferential treatment to goods

8:18from Israel, but not from the West Bank. And indeed, it just simply will be a ban on all goods. But I also hope it goes further. You know there are people who say it'll be virtually impossible to distinguish between goods from the West Bank and goods from Israel. Well, I think that this always happens as a problem as rules of origin, as to, you know, does this tire come from there, what percentage is for it. But I mean, that's a kind of established issue when it comes to international trade. And it will continue to be. Well, listen, we had a ban on goods coming in from Crimea when Crimea was occupied by the Russians and we continue to trade with Russia. We've been here before, we can do it. It is incumbent on all of us to make it perfectly clear that this far right government does not represent Israelis. And certainly does not represent Prishish Jews or Jews around the world. And it is really important that the two are disconnected. And we need to continue to kind of, you know, make that argument out there. But we have to challenge what this government is doing.

9:19I mean, they are, we've been here recently, it's set out of plan to forcibly expel Palestinians from Gaza. We need to make it clear that Netanyahu does not represent Prishish Jews. Emily Thornberry for the chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee in Parliament in Britain speaking to my colleague, Nick Robinson. Well, Simtia Rothman is a member of the Knesset for the far right religious Zionist party. I spoke to him a little earlier and asked for his reaction on the sanctions that were being put on goods from the occupied West Bank by the British government. I heard so many things not correct in what they just heard in the last few minutes that they really don't know where to start. We'll start with my question. What do you start with my question? First, I will start that I don't know or why would you defer in me as far right. The view about Judean Samaria and the view about the craziness of giving a Palestinian state to the people who showed what they're planning for the Jewish people and for the state of Israel.

10:21And the objection to that is being supported by two thirds of Israeli Knesset. I led Mr. Rothman to come to the decision against the Palestinians. No, no, I'm referring because you said, and I listened, that this is the view of the far right or the view of the extremists in Israel to go against two-state solution, which is not to not state and definitely not a solution. So I have to correct your listeners to say that two-thirds of Israeli parliament, the Knesset, two-thirds, you made a point. I think people will also want to know what you think the sanction is. I really don't. I'm saying that Britain is not going against Netanyahu's government. Is there not going against the far right in Israel? There are going against the state of Israel, the vast majority of the Jews in Israel,

11:24and the vast majority of the members of Knesset and the public in Israel. I mean, the British government specifically says that it does not equate the settlements with Israel itself. It specifically says that. So again, doesn't really matter what the British government say because apparently they don't know what they're talking about. Two-thirds of Israeli Knesset object to the idea of a Palestinian state. I led this decision, this resolution, in the parliament in July 2024. Two-thirds of Israeli Knesset want to apply Israeli law over Judean Samaria. I led this resolution in the Knesset in July 2025. Let me use the British government is going against the Israeli public. Could I ask you another question? Yes, of course. How should Israel respond to these sanctions? That's not for me to disarm it. How would you prefer the government to respond?

12:25But I think that the nerve of the British government to go against what they called an occupation or illegal occupation of Judean Samaria puts Britain in a very not so honored list. The list of great Britain and Pakistan. Those are the only two countries in the world that recognize the illegal occupation of Judean Samaria by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the 50s. The only two countries. So apparently all the Muslims that came from Pakistan to Britain, apparently conquered Britain because now Britain is actually fulfilling the use of the Pakistani government. Mr. Rothman. And it's a good question why Britain chose this honor to recognize Judean Samaria, the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people as an occupied territory.

13:26Can I also put this to you? There's a whole list of other countries that are planning similar restrictions. There's a whole list of them. Does that not worry you? That perhaps shows Israel becoming more and more isolated if not just Britain, but a whole list of countries I think you're doing this sort of thing. Sadly, there are many, many countries in the world that are being conquered by immigrants from Muslim countries and go against their own interests. We saw that in the war against Iran. When Israel was the only one who stood before the United States and other countries, including the UK, caved under the pressure because apparently you are being conquered from your form within. Let me try. And countries that are getting another question. Let me try some of the other questions. From within, support the free and democratic and Jewish state of it.

14:29Should the British ambassador be expelled? Again, it's not for me to define it as a definite issue of the consequences. What's your view? Again, it's not for me to decide there definitely should be consequences for a country that goes against morality, go against justice, it goes against history, and goes against international law. Okay. There should be repercussions. And that was Simtia Rothman speaking to me a little earlier. You're listening to News Air from the BBC. Music Coming up in just over 10 minutes time, Latvia's Foreign Minister tells us why she's banning book imports from neighboring Russia. We ban imports, we don't ban books. If people want to read books, they're most welcome to read books. If they want to read papers, it's all available. This is a free as democracy. This is there. Look at our other headlines.

15:29Britain, France, and 10 other countries are banning goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. They say Israel's expansion and Palestinian territories undermining the search for a two-state solution. And another headline, Yemen's hoothies say they've been retaliatory strikes after Saudi Arabia, if they fired Saudi Arabia drones and missiles, which hit some of their oil facilities. That's our latest headlines. Music You're listening to the BBC World Service. This is News Air with me, Gary O'Donohue. Now, before sunrise today, Tuesday, there was a pretty daring art theft on the French Riviera. It's left police hunting for two suspects who broke into the Renoir Museum at Canier-Souemer, and made off with several works of art

16:29costed according to the local mayor around $10 million. The alarm was triggered within minutes and police raced to the scene. And CCTV captured two thieves fleeing. The highest was once, as raised fresh questions, of course, about museum security. Who Paris joins us from Paris? As you say, Canier-Souemer, or a suburb of Niselmous now, but the place where Renoir, the impressionist artist, spent the last years of his life, a house on the hill, which was converted later in the 60s to museum, and houses a lot of his family memorabilia, from the French Riviera, but also a number of his paintings as he lived there for a fair amount of time and painted extensively there as well. There were, I think, 10 or 11 of his pictures on the old nude portraits and so on. And this was clearly the target for this pair of thieves who broke in at six o'clock in the morning.

17:30It looks like they knew when they were going to be a shift, a change of shift in the security personnel. They broke in through the garden and smashed a window, got in. The alarm was very quickly went off, but they had time to cut through the cables that the garden, that protected the pictures, sort of being removed, and took four with them, but in bags, but they were stopped. But they were such a hurry that they dropped two in the way out. So they've got a way of two. But they're all recognisable pictures, well-known pictures, documented, of course, and any chance that them being sold on is absolutely non-existent. I mean, these are well-known Renoir. They will not have any market value because they are unsolvable, except in an official way. Museums have had a bit of a bad run recently, haven't they? This is not the first of this kind in France or Italy in a few other places recently. Indeed, indeed. I mean, famously, we talk about the Louvre heist of a year ago, but in a way, that was anomalous.

18:30I mean, that's a world famous gallery which should have had massive protection and is going to get it. Far more troubling in a way is the vast network of small museums, which there are across France, and indeed, as you say, Italy and other parts of Europe, where there are nothing like the same level of value and quantity of works, but still stuff which is generally interesting. But the security at these places is very, very poor. And it's suddenly clearly a light has gone on in the minds of people who run these criminal gangs that this is an opportunity. And they are clearly turning their attention and spending money paying people to break into the smaller provincial regional galleries and make off with stuff. Sometimes stuff which can be converted into money, gold, diamonds, jewels and so on. But often it can also be works like this, which leaves one scratchy one's head because what can you do with a Renewa, not very much? Do they tend to catch these people or not really?

19:30I mean, some of these things are ordered, aren't they? We have a stolen order. Indeed. The Louvre and they've caught the people but the people aren't talking. And so they don't know really what happened to the material. They've lost these are the crown jewels of French empraces and queens and so on in the 19th century. They haven't got that back even though they've found the perpetrators. Often it's gangs who are acting under command from high ups and drugs organizations and so on. They may easily be foreigners who disappear across borders and so on. A lot was made of how inadequate the security is but here the security did work. I mean, the alarms went off straight away within five minutes of police were there. So they're hot on the tail of these people and that's certainly there's a hope. In this case, at least they will catch them. And that was our Paris Coruscany Huesco field. Now the Jamaican government says it is formally handed over a petition to King Charles over slavery reparations.

20:31Jamaica's culture minister, Olivia Grange, said it could pave the way for a settlement for the hundreds of years of the most horrific abuse of African ancestors, which they endured. The petition will ask the King who serves as Jamaica's head of state to refer three questions of legality over the slave trade, slave trade to the judicial committee of the privy council. That's the highest court of appeal. It's based in Britain for the Caribbean nation. The minister is also due to meet with officials from the British Museum to discuss the return of colonial area era artifacts. Earlier I spoke to Olivia Grange and I asked her what she thought would happen next. We're asking whether in Slaven Africans' battle was lawful on the English law, did it bridge international law to enslave Africans as a shadow in Jamaica and whether the UK is liable and a remedy

21:32to the people of Jamaica? And I'm assuming you're hoping that the answer to those all three questions is yes. Well, we await the answers and then we will make a determination based on the guidance from our lawyers, what the next steps will be. What would success look like for you? I do not want to speculate, Gary. We want to await these answers. To us, the fundamental thing is to make the determination based on these answers the way forward. You know the king is the king of Jamaica. Just as he is the king of the United Kingdom. We felt strongly based on guidance from our attorneys that these are important questions to determine what next? You'll know that the government here, the British government, as recently as yesterday,

22:33has rejected any calls for reparations, says that it's not going to happen. Well, we are not going to be distracted by any comment that was made. We are focused on getting answers to these questions. And we have not come out and see that we are asking for monetary compensation or anything like that because one of the questions has to do with whether there is a legal obligation on the part of the UK to provide a reparatory remedy to the people of Jamaica. That question is to be answered. Minister, you're also in Britain to talk to the British Museum. What are you looking for from that institution? You know, the Tainos were the original inhabitants of Jamaica. You know, we speak of reparations. We also speak of repatriation over artifacts.

23:36The centerpiece of Jamaica's restitution claim is a group of wooden carvings held by the British Museum. Alongside a wider loosely documented body of Jamaica and origin objects acquired during the colonial period, there are three artifacts in particular. The Birdman figure is a carved wooden spirit figure. And the boy, Niel, the rain god, a carved wooden zemi figure. And a kind of a zemi representing a spirit because the Tainos were very spiritual people. And all three were taken from Carpenter's mountain in 1792. They have spiritual importance, and they are considered among the finest surviving examples of Taino wood carving in the world.

24:38We are interested in having those repatriated and we have made an effort over the years. But we really would want to get the original artifacts. And that was Olivia Grange, Jamaica's culture minister, speaking to me a little earlier. Illusning, Taino's out. This message is for all of you who take your barbecuing seriously. Yes, I'm talking to 99.9% of all Aussies. Apologies to the .1% of you who might find this a bit boring. But if you want to take your barbecuing to the next level, you need to know about outdoor grilling equipment from Made In. The company that supplies many of the world's most famous chefs. Their carbon steel griddle, for example, is a professional grade griddle that turns an ordinary barbecue into a large restaurant-style flat top. It's perfect for snags, steaks, veggies, fish,

25:39and breakfast foods like pancakes and eggs and bacon. Pair it with the Made In Grill press, and it can even make mouth-watering smash burgers just like you'll find in your favorite restaurants. So if you want to up your barbecuing game, and who doesn't, do what the pros do, barbecue with Made In. Go to MadeInCookware.com.au for 10% off your first order of $149 or more. That's M-A-D-E-I-N-Cookware.com.au. This is Ashley Akinati from the Almost Amos Podcast. You ever notice you and your spouse keep saying, we need to get away, but you never actually plan anything. That was us until we did something fun and spontaneous. We went to ResortPass.com. There are hundreds of hotel resorts, pools and spots and private beaches that you can enjoy. You can spend the day at a luxury resort, pool, spa, massage, without booking an overnight stay. And listen, I may have only been like 15 minutes from home, but it felt like it was a whole different world.

26:40And I'm thinking this is exactly what I needed. So just go to ResortPass.com, choose your resort, choose your day, luxury, resort, day passes, start at just $25. Once you post your daycation, people are going to ask where you are. Go to ResortPass.com, slash Almost Famous, and use the promo code Almost Famous to get $20 off when you spend $100. That's code Almost Famous at ResortPass.com, slash Almost Famous. Welcome back to NewsHour with me, Gary O'Donohue.

27:42Latvia, one of the former Soviet states bordering Russia, but now in the European Union and NATO, has long warned about what it perceives as Moscow's malign influence, often seeing Russia as an outright threat to the Baltic states. Today, the Latvian government took its next step in trying to thwart that danger by banning the import of books and newspapers from Russia, and its close ally, Belarus. Binyabraza is Latvia's foreign minister, news as Tim Franks asked her, why the government introduced the ban? Why would someone need to import books from Russia, Belarus, the two alteritarian regimes, or papers, newspapers for that? If there is a need to buy anything like that, there is sufficient stuff here locally, or elsewhere in the EU. That's the main thinking, because you can also have propaganda, you can have other security sensitive issues, so there is actually security aspects to all of that.

28:43Okay, but it's just to be clear, it's a blanket ban on all this material coming in. Is it all Russian books? Because I'm just wondering, I mean, you say why is there a need to get any books from Russia, but I mean, you can imagine. Obviously, Russia has a glorious civilization. You can be appalled by what the present government is up to. But I mean, if there were a sort of fantastic new addition of a Tolstoy novel or Pushkin poetry, they can be published elsewhere. They don't have to be in the position of Russia. Okay, but if I'm just trying to be clear about this, then is this an economic embargo? Or is it, are you concerned about propaganda? Because hence my question about Pushkin or Tolstoy or Dostoevsky or whatever? Well, it's on the basis on specific customs codes. So those come the books from Russia, the books from Belarus. So it's not about authors or something. So it's just in the current conditions, you know, in the 50 year of the war, Russia is waging in Ukraine. That is a pretty straightforward.

29:43But you will also be aware that, look, you know, there is a counter argument here, which is that a quarter of your country sees themselves as ethnic Russians. You obviously very proudly see yourself, call yourself a democracy, which indeed you are, that this is... There's something that feels a little sort of umphrey, an anti-democratic about when you get into at least the optics of banning books. No, we ban imports. We don't ban books. I'm sorry, there's a big difference. As for the Russians here, we don't divide Latvian citizens in some type of groups. They are all Latvian nationals. As for the Russian citizens, there is below 40,000 of those living in Latvia. And those are some who have been living here for a long time and some who have received shelter from us after the start of the war. As for languages and discussions and, you know, what people use in private life, I can speak Russian myself.

30:43Does it make me a Russian speaker? I don't know. If people want to read books, they have most welcome to read books. If they want to read papers, it's all available. This is a free as democracy. So this is there. And that was Latvia's Foreign Minister, Bignia Brasa speaking to my colleague Tim Franks. You're listening to News Hour from the BBC World Service with me, Gary O'Donohue. The British government has been setting out his proposals designed to ban goods made in Jewish settlements in the occupant. And the British government has been setting out his proposals designed to ban goods made in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, including agricultural products. The Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, told MPs, the government wanted to reset its policy on Israel and that plans to build thousands of new homes in the occupied West Bank crossed a red line. The Prime Minister is right to say that the Labour government has not done enough in the face of what is happening.

31:43So today marks the beginning of a new approach. An approach that not only calls out injustice and suffering but acts. And in taking this stance, I make a very clear distinction, which is crucial for us all in this debate. Our argument is not with the people of Israel, with whom the UK has unshakable bonds. Our argument is with the conduct of its government. And I also want to say, emphatically, to people in Britain and indeed across the world. Holding British Jews responsible for the actions of the Israeli government as anti-Semitism, plain and simple. What we seek today, it's a salvage the only cause for peace and security, for Israelis and Palestinians, the two-state solution. The British Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, well, the prospect of action has been a subject of speculation for weeks, with Israel's Foreign Minister warning that Britain would be making a mistake

32:43and could face retaliation. In a minute, we'll hear from the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee. But first, our Middle East correspondent, Leigh-Ell-Nell, has been looking at how sanctions on exports could affect traders in the West Bank. I'm in the Jordan Valley to find out if one expected measure, a British ban on settlement produce, could make a difference. The main road here is dotted with date palms. Their juicy fruits are the main export crop from this region for Israeli settlers and Palestinians. This is what we're going to do, we're going to have a lot of money. We're going to have a lot of money. About half the palms have no fruits, complaints Abdul Halim Abul Omar in Allorja Village. It's because we lack water. Palestinians say Israel denies them a fair share of resources. This year, the farmer has few dates that are fit to show local exporter, Momen Sinacrot, who sells to the UK. Momen believes ending trade with settlements

33:43could curb settlement growth. Settlers are very active in the Jordan Valley and increasingly active. And they are not obeying any laws or rules or anything, even from the Israel army itself. They are going to the fields of the growers. They are stealing from them and they are controlling more and more land. Palestinians want this wide swath of fertile land along the West Bank's border with Jordan as part of their own hoped for state. But Israeli date farmer Avigdo Arbel is competent that Israel will never give it up. He's lived in a settlement here for more than 50 years and dismisses the impact of any UK ban on his goods. As soon as we have a situation of pressure and boycotts, we always break out and look for other markets. So I believe that if we get to a situation when there's no place to sell my fruits in Europe, we'll find other markets.

34:46Cooling and packing houses in the Jordan Valley are ready for this year's date harvest. Current UK and EU laws require labels for settlement goods. But a recent report by the NGO Global Echo found that some exports were inaccurately identified as coming from Israel or mingled with produce from inside Israel's recognized borders. Report author Jessica Stober thinks new sanctions could be easier to enforce. The ban is more self-enforcing because you have involved the private sector and it becomes commercially unviable for them to deal in settlement goods. And I would also say that a whole new set of measures become available to the UK government under sanctions regime, under a ban, including civil and criminal penalties that make it compliant much more likely. Several other European countries have already banned trade with settlements saying it's illegal obligation. But Britain's expected action

35:46is now putting a heavy strain on relations with Israel. And with least correspondent Yolanda Nell. Well as parliamentary elections loom next month in Israel, the issue of settlements and the status of the West Bank continue to be a major point of contention. And abroad some countries are preparing to take action to violence in the occupied territories. The Israeli government has previously warned that it would retaliate if any new measures were introduced or what about the US? My colleague, Rob Young, asked the ambassador, the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee about that situation. I think the Trump administration will be the best answer that from Washington, but I would tell you that it's probably going to have a very negative effect that does not meet whatever goal and maybe the Brits have. And I guess a big question is, why put this kind of pressure on Israel? Is the UK also putting the same kind of very strong sanction

36:48on North Korea, on China, on Russia? I don't know why Israel is being singled out for this kind of attention. When it comes to the West Bank, Israel argues that territories disputed most governments around the world, the United Nations also say that those settlements are illegal under international law. But if the United Kingdom does go ahead with this policy, should it expect consequences from the United States? Oh, I think without a doubt there will be, and it's not just from the federal government. I don't know if you've been keeping up with the fact that states like Florida, very large state, does a lot of business with the UK, under Florida law, and there are other states that will have the similar law, if the Brits do something like this with the partner Israel, then they will not be able to do business in Florida, which means you're going to have a huge economic impact on British businesses who will be banned from doing business, not just in Florida, but in a number of states across the country.

37:48Well, the new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke to Donald Trump on Monday. We don't know the contents of that call. Do you perhaps you can enlighten us as to how that went? I was not party to the conversation, so I couldn't, and if I was party, I probably couldn't reveal it anyway, but I was not part of it. Well, it was worth a try. Does that mean the United States recognizes these Israeli settlements in the West Bank as sovereign Israeli territory? I think once again, you have to separate areas A, B, and C. I don't know if people don't even know there is such a thing. But if you don't, then it's going to be that you'll misinterpret what the agreement under Oslo in 1993 was, and that was a division of, I'll use the biblical and the historic turns, Judea and Samaria, that there was three distinct regions that were delineated. Area A under the Palestinian Authority. Area B mostly under the Palestinian Authority, but with also Israeli military supervision,

38:49and then there's Area C, which is under Israeli supervision. There are half a million Israelis living in Area C in Judea and Samaria. Are you going to forcefully displace them? Are you saying that all of those communities, and we're not talking about trailer parks and caravans, we're talking about very well-developed communities with nice apartments and homes and libraries and schools and hospitals and storefronts. What do you suggest happened to those that were legally built? And when the term occupied comes in, it is occupied, but by the people who have a right to live there. Well, you've been on the ground. You've been visiting villages in the West Bank after some Palestinian Americans were attacked. And you referred to those violent settlers as terrorists. Do you believe that Israeli is not doing enough to rein in? The violence being perpetrated on a daily basis, we hear against Palestinians in the West Bank. As long as we keep a clear balance,

39:51there are Palestinian attacks on Israelis every single day. In fact, there was one yesterday. Palestinian viciously attacked multiple stab wounds against an Israeli civilian. That happens all the time. What I've tried to say, and I really want to continue to emphasize this, is that criminal activity is wrong, terrorism is wrong, who does it is of less importance than the fact that it's being done, it should be adjudicated. And that is exactly what I have been advocating for, is equal justice. Should there be punishment for Palestinians who murder Israelis? Absolutely. Should there be punishment and consequences for Israelis who go into Palestinian territory and torture mass or burn up a car? Absolutely. And just yesterday, the Prime Minister of Israel ordered the destruction of some of the outposts that are right there on the property that really is Palestinian property. It's an encroachment, and he's ordered the destruction of it.

40:51I wish that there would also be as clear-throwed a denunciation of the violence. I wish we would hear that from the Palestinian Authority President Makmuda Boss. I wish we would hear that there's going to be a discontinuation of paying people who murder Jews in the course of terrorist activity. We haven't heard it. In fact, all we hear is they're going to continue to do it. They hide the money through various means. That's really on the front. And I wish there was more pressure being put on them. The UK government might be well to be a little bit more outspoken about stopping violence across the board, whether it's done by Israelis or Palestinians. Well, you said at the weekend, the Brits have lost it. The Jew hate of their government knows no boundaries and knows no facts. When you made that statement, did you know that the father of the British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband was a Jewish refugee from Nazi-occupied Poland?

41:51Yes, I certainly did. It doesn't mean that a person is... You're using him directly of being a Jew hater. I would say that, look, you can be Jewish and not be that helpful to your own people. Just like Christians can be very hateful toward their own people. Americans sometimes are some of the most anti-American people I know. We have them marching on our streets every day. It doesn't mean that they love their country like they should. I'm just saying that the actions of a person take precedence over just what they say or who their parents were. And I just don't think maybe the Brits are thinking through the implications of this policy they're about to enact. Are they willing to stop doing business with a number of US states in which they currently have commerce? Because that's what's going to happen. Not to mention there will be many other Israeli-British partnerships that are going to be forbidden. I'm not sure what the endgame here is. I don't understand what is the purpose of this. Have they thought through what the implications are for the people of Great Britain?

42:56The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee speaking there. Well, in the past few minutes, Israel's foreign minister has been giving his reaction to those UK sanctions. Gideon Saar announced the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem. The accusations made today by the foreign secretary in the British Parliament were outrageous lies. Let me make this clear from the outset. We have nothing against the British people. We know that we have many friends in Britain. Unfortunately, a hostile labor government is in office, systematically acting against the state of Israel. And it has left us with no choice but to finally respond to its hostile actions. And that was Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, reacting there to the announcement of sanctions on settlements by the British government.

44:08You're listening to News Hour from the BBC World Service with me, Gary Otona-Hugh. While earlier on the programme, we heard about Latvia banning the import of Russian books. Well, councillors in Odessa, Ukraine's third largest city, are set to vote tomorrow on a proposal to ban all Russian language content from the public sphere. Russian is the first language of the overwhelming majority of people in the city. And for millions throughout Ukraine, including some of those troops defending the country in its war with Russia. But it's viewed by some Ukrainians, particularly those who teach language, as the enemy and an enemy language. And its use has been increasingly restricted by law. Corresponding to your reports. It's a muggy summer night in Odessa. Russia is all-wunching missiles at the city every few hours, but the mask theatre is packed.

45:13Veteran comic actor Boris Barysky with his trademark wax moustache keeps the audience rowing in the aisles with classic Odessa humour in the main language of its streets Russian. He's allowed to use it on stage because this is a private theatre, but he's been fined for writing coffee in Russian on the cafe menu. Signs in the language are banned. Part of a complex web of restrictions he thinks are absurd. This isn't even like O.L.O. Kafka. It's just total madness. Now he's worried that a proposed moratorium on Russian language content in the public sphere may even extend to songs. The song is a song that is the most important part of the world. The producer is more important than any other city. How can you cut them out of our lives? But lawyer Artem Khartershov, who's helped the council to decogonise Odessa, changing Soviet and Zara Stereo memorials and street names, says there's a problem with Russian songs in wartime.

46:21By the Russian speaking, music or something else, Russians try to deconstruct Ukrainian identity or try to influence especially on the young people. The language was instrumentalised by Russian Federation as a weapon. Photographer Natalia Mikhailenko agrees she grew up speaking Russian, but switched to Ukrainian when she learnt about Russia's centuries-long repression of Ukrainian culture. Now, when everyday people killed, it's very hard to hear Russian language. I think it's because of trauma. The most radical people is the people who are lost relatives. Ukrainian is already used for most purposes except private conversation in Odessa. Guides advertising excursions have switched to it, for example, as the law says everyone must use it at work.

47:22Ukrainian and Russian are closely related and most of the lessons understand both. Botanist Azeopoliavsky, an anthropologist who's founded a group campaigning for more open discussion of language issues, says that's not the point. The question is not really one of language, but it's one of liberty, right? Because Ukraine has been fighting for freedom. For most Ukrainians, diversity is not a thrill. This is what they're fighting for. This is the reason for this war, right? If you put it unhold, there's nothing to fight for. It's not clear yet whether the council will approve a moratorium on Russian in the public sphere, or what exactly that would mean in practice for Boris Barsky's theatre. At the end of his performances, he salutes gestures, his fellow actors, who defend the country by keeping it laughing, and then its ultimate defenders, its armed forces. The Russian is fighting for freedom! He wants Ukraine to win, but he thinks his country can fight Russia without needing to fight Russian too.

48:28I don't understand what they're fighting against. Russian isn't the language of Putin, is the language of writers like Dostoevsky and Volgaakov. Who gains from this? From setting people against other people? Who love Ukraine just as deeply? Only love it in a different language? Only Putin gains from this. Tim Hew will report from Odessa there. Scientists at the University of Manchester are developing a screening test which can show if a patient has a brain tumor by analysing their tears. It's about to be published worldwide, having proved successful in initial trials. Let's speak to Professor Petra Havelik, professor of neuro-oncology at the University of Manchester. She's the lead researcher and she told me how she came up with the idea. It was a scientific discussion with colleagues where we were speculating what is the best way to detect something which is hidden inside of our skull behind so-called blood-brain barrier.

49:33We had a colleague who was looking into ocular diseases and then we speculated that maybe there is a connection between our eye and brain, and therefore we could see the brain tumors as some kind of imaging and mirror in the tear fluid. I read that you had this sort of discovery where it was chatting in a bar which I suppose is a good place to send it. Those were early years. Good ideas coming all sorts of places. How reliable is the test? The test is still in development. We haven't published it and we are finalising the data that we have received from about 500 participants across different sites. I think maybe by the end of this year we will know how well it works, but the preliminary data indicates that we are reaching near 90% accuracy, being able to tell whether you do or don't have brain tumor. This is yet to be validated. I was also reading that obviously don't try and make people cry in order to harvest it.

50:40You do stick something in their eye, don't you? We collect something that is called the baseline. It's the normal fluid that is making sure your eye is moist and it doesn't dry up so you can see properly. What we do is we take a small piece of paper. It's a paper strip which is inserted into the lower eyelid for five minutes. You gently close your eyes. It's a little bit itchy for some people, but it's very non-invasive. After those five minutes we can process this strip and get the answer. Is this something that could be done by regular physicians close to people in their hometown? This is the vision that we are working towards. As you can imagine, this type of research, especially if you want to build something that is translationally viable in the clinic, will take years. Ultimately what we would like to make sure is basically point of care clinicians or emergency department which see patients with all kinds of symptoms which could be a brain tumor but are more likely not.

51:40So some kind of a three-archeter that will accelerate access to those scans. Absolutely amazing. That was Professor Petra Hamillick speaking to me earlier from Manchester University. Get more with BBC Podcasts wherever you listen. Be the first to listen to your favourite shows like Evil Genius, Good Bad Billionaire and Your Dead To Me with a subscription to BBC Podcasts Premium on Apple Podcasts. You can also enjoy a range of our podcasts, add free with an Amazon Music subscription.