The British government has clarified that it does not consider Israelis at the Kosel or in Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter to be unlawfully present, despite adopting an International Court of Justice position regarding Israeli-controlled territory beyond the 1967 lines.

The clarification came after Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a ban on goods from Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and accepted an ICJ advisory opinion describing Israel’s presence in areas captured from Jordan in 1967 as unlawful.

The British government’s position raised concerns that it might also consider Jews praying at the Kosel or living in the Jewish Quarter to be unlawfully present.

A Foreign Office spokesperson rejected that interpretation.

“The government will always protect religious freedoms—including the rights of Jews to pray at the Western Wall,” the spokesperson told the Jewish Chronicle.

“It is not the government’s position that the presence of Israelis in Jerusalem, including in the Jewish Quarter or at the Western Wall, is unlawful,” the spokesperson added.

Miliband said Britain’s view regarding the legality of Israel’s presence in the territories would also be reflected in its economic relations with the region. He announced a new sanctions framework that would include exemptions for religious matters.

The Kosel and Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter are located beyond the Green Line and came under Israeli control during the 1967 Six-Day War after previously being controlled by Jordan.

Israel applied its law to eastern Jerusalem in 1980, though many countries do not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the area.

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