U.K. accuses Israeli settlers of 'ethnic cleansing' in West Bank and bans their goods

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a ban on imports of goods produced in Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Tuesday. He called Israeli settlers "terrorists" and accused them of carrying out "ethnic cleansing" against Palestinians, in a strong escalation of British rhetoric.

The measures are intended to put pressure on Israel over settlement expansion, which the U.K. says is undermining prospects for establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel, known as the two-state solution to the conflict.

In a joint statement Canada and France announced similar bans on goods from Israeli settlements, with France also pushing for a European Union-wide ban.