LONDON — The UK government is to set out new restrictions on buying goods made in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank in what has been described as a broad reset of Britain’s relations with Israel on Tuesday.In an intervention that is expected to draw fierce criticism from the US and Israel, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband will announce a ban on the trade in goods and some services from the illegal Israeli settlements, promising the government will take a more active approach in supporting the Palestinian cause.Miliband has also told civil society groups he is determined to reassert support for a two-state solution to the conflict with an appeal for the protection of Palestinian rights and respect for international law.Miliband is expected to outline the measures in the Commons on Tuesday, which could include restrictions on trade in agricultural products from settlements.Last week, Miliband said he would unveil a “comprehensive reset” of the British government’s policy on Israel.The Israeli government has previously warned it would retaliate if any new measures were introduced.Settlements are illegal under international law, and recent months have seen a rise in violence towards Palestinians in the West Bank by settlers.One minister told the BBC: “The statement will be a complete reset of the nature of our Israel-Palestine relationship. It will all feel very different.”It is not just about sanctions. We hope that this will finally achieve what those of us who have been working towards for two years over the Middle East have been working on.”But Labour MPs briefed on the plans believe the sanctions will target trade with illegal settlements. They believe that means the sanctions would cover both goods and services.Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed to Labour MPs at their weekly parliamentary meeting on Monday night that Miliband would be making the statement.The prime minister is also said to have told the meeting that he had briefed international leaders about plans in phone calls on Monday afternoon.Burnham spoke to US President Donald Trump over the phone on Monday, during which the prime minister stressed the importance of a two-state solution in the Middle East.An official account of the call released by No 10 did not specify that Burnham had briefed Trump on the sanctions, while the US— which is likely to strongly oppose the proposals— has not commented.Speaking in July, Stephen Doughty— who was then Europe minister but has since been appointed Middle East minister— told the business select committee that existing powers to impose restrictions on settlements did not go far enough.He said: “At the moment, we can sanction where there is evidence of it being linked to settler violence, but not, for example, in relation to a contractor working on the settlements. We need to expand our sanctions powers.”While ministers are said to recognise that banning a relatively small quantity of mostly agricultural products is a largely symbolic gesture, the government is expected to frame this announcement as a major reset in Britain’s wider policy on Israel.The expected announcement by the UK government comes after Israel opened up tenders for the construction of some 1,200 settlement homes in the so-called E1 area— a strategically important area east of Jerusalem. The plans have drawn widespread international condemnation.Israel has held off on plans to build in the area for decades under global pressure.Speaking in his first address to Parliament as foreign secretary last week, Miliband said those plans were “illegal under international law”, and called them “the crossing of a red line, as it cuts through the heart of the West Bank and risks making a Palestinian state unviable”.Burnham also warned that Israel’s announcement about the E1 area could “imperil or end” the two-state solution in the Middle East.Tuesday’s expected intervention will come almost a year after Keir Starmer’s government recognized a state of Palestine, and said the UK had a moral responsibility to support a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians.The government believes the prospect of a two-state solution is being jeopardized by the rapid expansion of settlements.The proposal for an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital, to exist alongside Israel has received international backing over several decades.Israel rejects a two-state solution. The Palestinian Authority backs a two-state solution but Hamas does not because it is opposed to the existence of Israel.Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem— land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state— during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them.There has been a surge in attacks by settlers on Palestinians and their property in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, which was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.LONDON — The UK government is to set out new restrictions on buying goods made in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank in what has been described as a broad reset of Britain’s relations with Israel on Tuesday.In an intervention that is expected to draw fierce criticism from the US and Israel, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband will announce a ban on the trade in goods and some services from the illegal Israeli settlements, promising the government will take a more active approach in supporting the Palestinian cause.Miliband has also told civil society groups he is determined to reassert support for a two-state solution to the conflict with an appeal for the protection of Palestinian rights and respect for international law.Miliband is expected to outline the measures in the Commons on Tuesday, which could include restrictions on trade in agricultural products from settlements.Last week, Miliband said he would unveil a “comprehensive reset” of the British government’s policy on Israel.The Israeli government has previously warned it would retaliate if any new measures were introduced.Settlements are illegal under international law, and recent months have seen a rise in violence towards Palestinians in the West Bank by settlers.One minister told the BBC: “The statement will be a complete reset of the nature of our Israel-Palestine relationship. It will all feel very different.”It is not just about sanctions. We hope that this will finally achieve what those of us who have been working towards for two years over the Middle East have been working on.”But Labour MPs briefed on the plans believe the sanctions will target trade with illegal settlements. They believe that means the sanctions would cover both goods and services.Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed to Labour MPs at their weekly parliamentary meeting on Monday night that Miliband would be making the statement.The prime minister is also said to have told the meeting that he had briefed international leaders about plans in phone calls on Monday afternoon.Burnham spoke to US President Donald Trump over the phone on Monday, during which the prime minister stressed the importance of a two-state solution in the Middle East.An official account of the call released by No 10 did not specify that Burnham had briefed Trump on the sanctions, while the US— which is likely to strongly oppose the proposals— has not commented.Speaking in July, Stephen Doughty— who was then Europe minister but has since been appointed Middle East minister— told the business select committee that existing powers to impose restrictions on settlements did not go far enough.He said: “At the moment, we can sanction where there is evidence of it being linked to settler violence, but not, for example, in relation to a contractor working on the settlements. We need to expand our sanctions powers.”While ministers are said to recognise that banning a relatively small quantity of mostly agricultural products is a largely symbolic gesture, the government is expected to frame this announcement as a major reset in Britain’s wider policy on Israel.The expected announcement by the UK government comes after Israel opened up tenders for the construction of some 1,200 settlement homes in the so-called E1 area— a strategically important area east of Jerusalem. The plans have drawn widespread international condemnation.Israel has held off on plans to build in the area for decades under global pressure.Speaking in his first address to Parliament as foreign secretary last week, Miliband said those plans were “illegal under international law”, and called them “the crossing of a red line, as it cuts through the heart of the West Bank and risks making a Palestinian state unviable”.Burnham also warned that Israel’s announcement about the E1 area could “imperil or end” the two-state solution in the Middle East.Tuesday’s expected intervention will come almost a year after Keir Starmer’s government recognized a state of Palestine, and said the UK had a moral responsibility to support a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians.The government believes the prospect of a two-state solution is being jeopardized by the rapid expansion of settlements.The proposal for an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital, to exist alongside Israel has received international backing over several decades.Israel rejects a two-state solution. The Palestinian Authority backs a two-state solution but Hamas does not because it is opposed to the existence of Israel.Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem— land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state— during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them.There has been a surge in attacks by settlers on Palestinians and their property in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, which was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
