"It's something our council and people have called for for a long time": Sheffield reacts to government's West Bank sanctions

“I’m proud to say that the pressure my colleagues and grassroots organisations have put on the Government has worked”

Long-standing Sheffield campaigners for peace in Palestine have shared their reaction to government sanctions on Israeli goods.

Coun Minesh Parekh, council leader Fran Belbin, ex-councillor Nabeela Mowlana, Coun Zahira Naz and MP Abtisam Mohamed | Minesh Parekh

placeholder image — Coun Minesh Parekh, council leader Fran Belbin, ex-councillor Nabeela Mowlana, Coun Zahira Naz and MP Abtisam Mohamed | Minesh Parekh

Councillor Minesh Parekh and Sheffield Central MP Abtisam Mohamed feel the pressure they add at a local level is important to ensure the government holds Israel accountable.

On Tuesday, September 8, the Government announced sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, to take action against “oppression and suffering”.

Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, told the House of Commons: “The British Government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists.

“We refuse to be bystanders to further suffering and to the destruction of the two-state solution.”

In 2019, Sheffield City Council was the first European city council to recognise the state of Palestine, five years ahead of the national government.

Sheffield is now twinned with Nablus, one of the largest Palestinian cities in the West Bank.

Julie Pearn of Sheffield Nablus Twinning Association said Sheffield has had a long standing relationship with Palestine.

Street art campaigns in Nablus | Sheffield Nablus Twinning Association

She is among those to build genuine connections with the West Bank city over five visits to Nablus.

She said: "In our sister city of Nablus, a large Palestinian city in the West Bank, IDF soldiers have recently been carrying out almost nightly raids into the city, beating up citizens, ransacking homes, destroying property and businesses and on occasions shooting young men and boys – and then obstructing the ambulances who come to their aid.

“In the surrounding villages settler attacks have become frequent, often assisted by IDF soldiers. Israeli roadblocks and checkpoints make travel to and from Nablus dangerous and at times impossible, strangling the local economy, and goods imported are becoming more restricted.

“The aim is to humiliate and oppress the Palestinian population and ultimately make them feel they have no future in their own land.”

Julie Pearn with the Palestinian ambassador Dr Husam Zomlot and then-council leader Julie Dore when the council passed a historic vote to recognise the state of Palestine in September 2019. | Sheffield Nablus Twinning Association

Councillor Minesh Parekh seconded the ‘not in our name’ motion brought to the council a year ago in September 2025, calling for tougher action on Israel which councillors voted to support.

Coun Parekh said the government's decision on sanctions was a really positive move, especially as the action is being taken with 11 other nations.

He said: “The Labour Party's response on the situation in Gaza, when we came to power, was too weak. That was a moral failing.

“I'm really glad that Andy Burnham has come in and said that he wants to have a reset. He recognises mistakes were made. That this signals to me, our government wants to play a role in convening a new international consensus around peace and justice.

“I'm particularly glad because it's something our council and people in Sheffield have called for for a long time,” he added.

Paul Blomfield MP, Ms Pearn and Linda McAvan MEP at skatepark Asirya near Nablus which volunteers from Sheffield had helped to build. | Sheffield Nablus Twinning Association

MP for Sheffield Central Abtisam Mohamed said: “Two months ago, I led a debate in the Commons about the UK’s role in applying our soft economic power to stop Israel’s illegal occupation of and expansion into Palestine, a state that our Government has officially recognised.

“When Russia invaded Ukraine, we immediately imposed sanctions on Russia, because we rightly believed in the principles at stake. In the debate, I said that if the Government believed international law has meaning it should be applied consistently."

Ms Mohamed has long campaigned for Palestine, and in April 2025 she and another Labour MP Yuan Yang were detained by Israel when trying to visit the occupied West Bank as part of a parliamentary delegation.

She continued: “Banning settlement goods as the Government has done is the just thing to do, it is the right thing to do, and it applied international humanitarian law fairly.

Julie Pearn went on a delegation visit to the Askar refugee camp in Nablus in 2017, including the "wonderful" girls’ school. | Sheffield Nablus Twinning Association

“While it has been a long time coming, I’m proud to say that the pressure I, my colleagues and grassroots organisations have put on the Government has worked.

Coun Parekh said people might wonder why a local council is taking a stand on international issues.

“Lots of people in my ward raised this with me, that they feel there hasn't been a strong enough stance from our country, on questions of peace and international justice.”

“Also there is a level of local complicity when we look at council investments, government investments, pension funds, and what they're invested in.

“I don't think it sits comfortably with anyone for public money to, in any way, support conflict abroad.

“It's just about ensuring we are doing what we can, even if the levers available to us locally are limited. They're still being used to put pressure on other countries to stop a genocide from taking place, or ensure that there are consequences when that happens.”