Yes, the heated, febrile atmosphere that invariably accompanies an impending Israeli election may have contributed to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar's brutal response, but most Israelis will have shared his sense of outrage.

Many Israelis find the violent, messianic ideology of some settlers deeply problematic. Some see them as a national embarrassment.

But that's not the same as saying they agree that settlements, built on land captured during the 1967 Six Day War, are illegal.

Most would disagree vehemently with the former prime minister, Ehud Olmert, who last year accused his successor Benjamin Netanyahu of turning Israel into an international pariah.

But they can feel the walls of international opprobrium closing in - from protests at Eurovision or sporting events, to international arrest warrants being issued against their leaders and now to bans on settlement products - and that makes them anxious and defensive.

For the Palestinians, on the other hand, this feels like progress.

The Palestinian foreign ministry commended the countries adopting sanctions but called for "urgent, concrete measures" to stop Israel's "illegal settlement enterprise".

In London, the Palestinian ambassador Dr Husam Zomlot called the government's decision "a turning point in the UK-Palestine relationship".

Britain's "courageous steps", he said, would help pave the way for the independence of the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

But Zomlot knows that the reality of Israel's 59-year occupation has not ended, or even substantially changed.