Ed Miliband has introduced a ban on imported goods from West Bank settlements and vehemently criticised Israeli policies in the West Bank and Gaza.
In a statement in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the foreign secretary, who opened his speech by referring to his background as “a proud British Jew, someone with the deepest gratitude to the State of Israel for giving a home to my grandmother after she lost her husband, my grandfather, and 60 other family members at the hands of the Nazis”, when onto launch a blistering critique of Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
The former Labour leader said today marked the beginning of a “new approach” and that his party “has not done enough in the face of what is happening” in the Palestinian territories.
Though he emphasised that the government’s disagreement was with Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition rather than the people of Israel, “with whom the UK has unshakeable bonds”, Miliband blasted the growth in the number of people living across the Green Line from around 270,000 at the time of the Oslo Accords in the 1990s to around 770,000 today.
Miliband then castigated the Israeli government for allowing construction in the West Bank, including in the E1 area near Jerusalem – which he claimed amounted to “the creation of a set of facts on the ground to make the two-state solution unviable” – and turning a blind eye to “ethnic cleansing” by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
He told MPs: “Ethnic cleansing is defined by the UN as ‘a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas’.
“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.”
Miliband then announced that Britain accepted the ICJ’s advisory legal opinion that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank was “unlawful”, clarifying that the government’s previous legal position was just that settlements were illegal.
He then announced that “the government believes the unlawfulness of the occupation should be reflected in the economic relationships we choose to have with the occupied territories”.
He went on: “I do not believe that the British people want us supporting the occupation by accepting products from settlements in our shops and supermarkets. So, I can announce today that we will introduce an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories.”
The foreign secretary went on to emphasise that action would be taken against those who provide services to Israeli settlements and that those who advertise settlements in the UK could face action.
He told the Commons: “We will take action against specific companies and individuals who provide services such as construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate for settlement expansion.
“So, to those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this, you will face the full force of UK sanctions. Settlements are illegal. They should not be promoted in our country. Earlier this year, shamefully, just a few miles from here, we saw an expo advertising illegal settlement land.
“To ensure this never happens again, we will ban the advertising in the UK of illegal settlements.”
Miliband said that the legislation he announced would take effect within six to nine months but added that more sanctions would be imposed against what he described as “extremist settlers who have supported or incited acts of violence against Palestinian communities”.
He did, however, emphasise that the government’s objections were against the settlements, not Israel as a whole, and expressed opposition to the BDS movement.
Miliband also used some of the strongest language British ministers have used to criticise Israel’s actions in Gaza.
He said that the horrors Israel faced on October 7 at the hands of Hamas and other terrorist groups “cannot justify what has happened in Gaza” and repeated criticism – disputed by both Israel and the United States – that Israel is restricting entry of essential supplies into Gaza.
Miliband also made reference to UN reports which he said “represent increasing evidence that war crimes appear to have been committed” and that the government supported “legal processes to determine this”.
He repeated the government’s policy when it came to the question of whether Israel has committed genocide, stating that it was a matter for international courts.
Miliband confirmed that France and Canada, among other nations, would also be introducing similar measures to the ones introduced by Britain.
Following the statement, Father of the House Sir Edward Leigh, the Commons’ longest-serving member of Conservative Friends of Israel, backed the measures, saying: “What is happening in the West Bank is absolutely violent and egregious. It is worse than stopping the two-state solution; it is ethnic cleansing.”
The MP for Gainsborough argued the Israeli government “could quite easily differentiate between general trade and trade to these illegal settlements”, and the UK’s actions should not affect the intelligence relationship.
He added: “I am proud to say, as the longest-serving member of the Conservative Friends of Israel, that I absolutely and fully support what he is doing today, because it is about standing up for freedom, for morality, and justice for all people in this world.”
Miliband said Sir Edward is “absolutely right in the way that he talks about these issues”, adding: “I think he is absolutely right to say that he and I consider ourselves deep friends of Israel.”
He added: “The actions of its government over the past few years has not made Israel more secure, it has made it less secure, and that should trouble all friends of Israel across this country and across the world.”
The measures announced by the foreign secretary were strongly hinted at by his predecessor Yvette Cooper, who served in Sir Keir Starmer’s government back in July.
Andy Burnham, the prime minister, also indicated he would take more robust measures when he was standing to become Labour leader.
As a candidate, he said in a video: “We need to do more, which includes looking at further sanctions, both on those involved in the violence in Gaza, but also looking at measures to ban trade in goods with illegal settlements.”
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