Ed Miliband has accused the Israeli government of turning a blind eye to “ethnic cleansing” in the West Bank and announced a series of sweeping sanctions on trade with illegal settlements, in a dramatic downturn in relations between the UK and Israel.
In a move he said marked a “new approach” to ties between the two countries, the foreign secretary declared the occupation of the West Bank as a whole was unlawful, going beyond the previous position that only described the settlements themselves as illegal.
Both Israel and the US criticised the UK’s stance, which will see a ban on imports from illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and sanctions on individuals and firms providing services to settlers.
Israel immediately responded with a range of retaliatory measures, including the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem and the expulsion of British officials from a Gaza coordination centre, with foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar branding the UK’s move “morally distorted” and accusing Mr Miliband of “outrageous lies”.
He said the British government’s measures have “echoes of the antisemitic words” of the past, and claimed Labour has been “hostile” towards Israel since the party was re-elected.
It came after Mr Miliband issued an emotional statement in the Commons, telling MPs that the measures would show “Britain is not silent in the face of deep injustice and nor is it powerless”.
Among the measures announced by the foreign secretary were:
- An import ban on goods from illegal settlements
- A new comprehensive sanctions regime to target companies and individuals providing services such as financing and construction for the settlements
- A ban on advertising in the UK of illegal settlements.
- Mr Miliband also said the government would now refuse all applications for the export of weapons and equipment that would “materially contribute to the occupation”
Mr Miliband added: “The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank – perpetrated by settler terrorists.
“And all too often the Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this and worse, members of it have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians.”
In a criticism of Sir Keir Starmer’s administration, in which he served, Mr Miliband said new prime minister Andy Burnham was “right to say that the Labour government has not done enough in the face of what is happening”.
Announcing an import ban on goods from illegal settlements, he said: “I do not believe the British people want us supporting the occupation by accepting products from settlements in our shops and supermarkets.”
He said there was increasing evidence that Israel had committed war crimes in Gaza, but stopped short of saying it was responsible for a genocide – maintaining the UK’s position that could only be decided by international courts.
The foreign secretary acknowledged Israel had “the right not to live in fear of vile terrorism” and to defend its territory and people following the Hamas attacks on October 7.
“But that cannot justify what has happened in Gaza,” he said.
The UK is among 12 countries that have vowed to impose the sanctions, including Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
Mr Miliband told MPs the “new approach” was necessary because plans for the E1 development in the West Bank would render a two-state solution “unviable” by “cutting through the heart of Palestine”.
Israel has pushed forward with controversial plans to build over 1,200 new housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank, a 12 sqm stretch of land located just east of Jerusalem.
Mr Miliband said more settlements had been approved under the four years of Mr Netanyahu’s government than in the previous 20 years, and settler terrorism in the West Bank was “rampant”.
Hitting back, Israel also announced a ban on 23 individuals – including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Labour MP Diane Abbott – from entering Israel.
“The British move is morally distorted and constitutes blatant interference in the affairs of a sovereign state and in its electoral process,” Mr Sa’ar said.
“The attempt by the British Labour government to impose measures in the style of the ‘White Paper’ carries echoes of the antisemitic words of British Lieutenant-General Barker, commander of British forces in the Land of Israel during the Mandate, who said: ‘punish the Jews by striking at their pockets’.
“The Jewish people have the right to live throughout the Land of Israel. The connection and right of the Jewish people to this land are documented more extensively than those of any other people in human history.”
He added: “I say to the Labour government and to every government in the world that thinks it can force Israel to act against our national and security interests: You have no chance of succeeding...
“The latest decision by the Labour government joins an increasingly escalating series of unilateral measures against Israel adopted by the hostile Labour government since it took office in July 2024.”
The UK and Israel are long-standing diplomatic and strategic partners, but their relationship has faced increasing political strain as a result of the conflict in Gaza. Sanctions on Israel also risk the ire of the US, which is Israel’s closest ally and largest single trading partner.
Mr Miliband, who described himself as a “proud British Jew”, made clear he was “unwavering” in his support for the State of Israel and “our argument is with the conduct of its government”.
But the Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis has described today as “truly a dark day for British Jews”, dubbing the measures “gesture politics”.
“Today our government has chosen to ignore the deep concerns expressed by so many of us,” he said. “The measures announced amount to little more than political flag-bearing for mendacious anti-Israel rhetoric and those who harbour a dangerous obsession with the Jewish State.
“These measures will succeed only in bolstering the very extremism they seek to target. On the eve of Rosh Hashanah and at a time when our community is more vulnerable than ever to the wave of extremism that has been building over recent years, these sanctions do nothing to advance the cause of peace. Nor do they make anyone safer – quite the contrary.
“Gesture politics of this kind feeds into an increasingly hostile discourse about Israel, and the cumulative effect of such punitive policies is to further embolden those, at home and abroad, who use hatred as a weapon against Jews.”
The British government’s actions were condemned by the US and Israel before they were even formally announced, with US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee calling it an “irrational action”.
“I feel like it’s discrimination against the Israeli government. It’s a discrimination against the Jewish people,” he told the BBC’s Today programme.
He added: “I also would tell you that I don’t know if they have thought it through. It’s like throwing a stone and not having an idea of where it’s going to land.
“And I realise, look, the UK is a sovereign country; they can do what they want, but so is the US.”
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