UK threatens far more severe sanctions on Israel
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, speaking at the Labour Party conference, announced a fundamental shift in UK policy toward Israel, threatening sanctions on entities providing services for settlement expansion beyond the Green Line. Miliband condemned settlement violence, war crimes in Gaza, and the occupation, while expanding an arms embargo. The speech marks a sharp deterioration in UK-Israel relations, driven by domestic political pressure and Labour's electoral losses.
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband delivered a landmark speech at the Labour Party conference, announcing a fundamental shift in British policy toward Israel. Miliband threatened sanctions on any entity providing services for settlement expansion beyond the Green Line, which could have sweeping implications for Israeli banks that finance mortgages or construction in the territories. He condemned "ethnic cleansing by settler terrorists in the West Bank," "evidence of war crimes in Gaza," and "Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine." The UK also expanded its arms embargo, banning export of an additional 50 systems and weapons beyond the 30 previously frozen licenses. The speech reflects a prolonged deterioration in UK-Israel relations since October 7, 2023, driven by massive pro-Palestinian demonstrations and Labour's electoral losses in local elections. Miliband, who comes from a Jewish family, framed the policy as a defense of the two-state solution. The threat to target services rather than just goods goes further than other European countries like Ireland and the Netherlands have attempted, potentially creating legal complications for Israeli financial institutions.