Miliband risks backlash from US and Israel as UK announces West Bank sanctions

Mr Miliband said the British Government believed the occupation as a whole was unlawful, going beyond the previous position that only described the settlements themselves as illegal.

And 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 reset in the UK’s approach under Andy Burnham has already triggered a backlash from Donald Trump’s White House and Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israel.

But 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”.

He 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”.

“The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank – perpetrated by settler terrorists,” Mr Miliband told the Commons.

“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.”

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.”

A new comprehensive sanctions regime will target companies and individuals providing services such as financing and construction for the settlements.

There will also be a ban on advertising in the UK of illegal settlements.

Legislation for the new regime could take up to nine months to put in place, Mr Miliband said, but he promised immediate sanctions against “extremist settlers who have supported or incited acts of violence”.

Mr Miliband said the Government would now refuse all applications for the export of weapons and equipment that would “materially contribute to the occupation”.

On Gaza, the Foreign Secretary said there had been “the most unimaginable trauma and suffering” which was “a stain on the conscience of the world and of this country too”.

In a criticism of Sir Keir Starmer’s administration, in which he served, Mr Miliband said new Prime Minister Mr Burnham was “right to say that the Labour government has not done enough in the face of what is happening”.

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, 2023.

“But that cannot justify what has happened in Gaza,” he said.

The Foreign Secretary said events in Gaza, including the actions of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) had been examined by organisations including the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry.

“The conclusions of these reports represent increasing evidence that war crimes appear to have been committed,” he said.

“And we support legal processes to determine this.”

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”.

Condemnation

The British government’s actions were condemned by the US and Israel before they were even formally announced.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called 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.”

Israeli president Isaac Herzog said UK sanctions “would be a gross interference in the democratic elections of a sovereign nation” as the country prepares to go to the polls next month, and also said such a step would harm Palestinians.

“If this happens – and other nations may join – I believe it will prove to be a grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history,” he said.

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar meanwhile warned: “If Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain.”

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s hardline public security minister, called on Mr Netanyahu to publicly recognise the Falkland Islands as “Argentine territory under occupation, which the British violently steal from the Argentine people”.

‘Anguish’

Shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat warned that the trade ban would not work and the sanctions could bolster the chances of hardliners in Israel’s election.

He pointed out that Labour ministers had previously warned that “the economies of Palestine and Israel are too interconnected” for a ban on goods from illegal settlements to work, and added: “The Israeli election is in just seven weeks and many have argued, correctly, that this action will help the extreme candidates’ campaigns and not help those who are making the moderate argument for a united Israel.”

The Jewish Leadership Council warned the ban on goods from settlements “risks becoming a de facto boycott of Israel” and claimed Mr Miliband was “yielding to pressure from the most extreme elements of British society”.

“The left-wing and Islamist extremists the Government is trying to appease will never be satisfied, and no responsible government should bend to their demands,” a JLC spokesman said.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews criticised the announcement and its timing, in the run-up to the Rosh Hashanah new year festival.

In a statement, the organisation said: “As proud Brits who love our country, and who also have deep religious, cultural and family ties to Israel, we feel a deep sense of anguish about this breakdown in relations.

“We are also impacted directly by heightened rhetoric about the conflict, including policies that focus on the actions of the Israeli government and do not sufficiently address responsibilities of Palestinian leaders and malign actors in the region.”

‘Welcome’