A small bold step with big implications

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Summary: Britain’s Foreign Secretary delivered a speech in Parliament the likes of which had not been heard before: the UK was asserting leadership in denouncing the Israeli government for its war against Palestine.

When Ed Miliband rose in the house on Tuesday he understood fully that there would be significant backlash from Israel and from some sectors of Britain’s Jewish community. But thanks to a phone conversation Prime Minister Andy Burnham had had with President Trump on Monday he also knew that his greatest concern about the negative reaction his speech would have – blowback from the US – had been addressed. Trump was not going to fire off a Truth Social screed attacking the UK and defending Israel. Nor were others in his administration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio among them, going to rush to Israel’s defence. Indeed the only reported responses were from the US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee who made himself look extremely silly by calling the UK government and Ed Miliband, who of course is Jewish, Jew haters. A far right and openly racist US congressman from Florida threatened to ban all trade with the UK from his state though it was not immediately clear how he would achieve this.

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis called it “a dark day for British Jews” and “gesture politics” adding Miliband’s speech had put Jews in the UK at risk. (It is worth noting that the chief rabbi in his capacity as leader of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth speaks on behalf of approximately half of the UK’s Jewish population.) When the BBC’s Justin Webb on Wednesday led with an introduction prefaced by the query “has the government got this right” he immediately referenced the chief rabbi. To which the foreign secretary citing the two-state solution “being destroyed before our eyes” replied “Andy and I took the view that as a government we are not going to be passive, we are not going to stand by.”

Webb followed up by asking if the chief rabbi was wrong and that the government’s decision “did nothing to harm British Jews.” To which Miliband gave a precise response “Yes. I am saying I do not agree with the chief rabbi.”

The response from Israel was predictable with the Netanyahu government ordering the UK to close its consulate in East Jerusalem in 30 days and the Minister of Diaspora Affairs submitting a list of UK charities to be banned including Oxfam and Save the Children. The Israel foreign minister Gideon Saar, had already issued a threat that “If Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain.” 11 MPs have also been sanctioned.

By any standard the Miliband speech was a significant departure from both the Starmer government and any other in recent memory. The Foreign Secretary spoke about “the deep sense of shame about what has unfolded in Palestine.” He denounced settler violence in the West Bank calling it out for what it is: state sponsored terrorism. “The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank – perpetrated by settler terrorists,” he stated. He noted that the Netanyahu government had “all too often turned a blind eye to this and worse, members of it have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians.” He spoke powerfully in defence of the two-state solution and decried the new E1 settlement announced in August that would cut the West Bank in half. He ended the silence “on the question of the legality of the occupation as a whole, which in 2024 the International Court of Justice concluded was unlawful. Today I announce that the official view of the British Government is that the occupation is unlawful.”

He spoke about sanctioning products that come from illegal settlements. And he said this:

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.

There was much more in his remarkable speech (which can be found here) but what comes through with unquestionable clarity is the foreign secretary’s determination to set a new approach and to finally and irrevocably break the silence about Israel’s crimes.

As Sir Vincent Fean, a former British ambassador and from 2010 -2014 the consul general to Jerusalem told Arab Digest “there is no going back and it is not just about the settlements, it is about Gaza. The foreign secretary is speaking truth to power.” Sir Vincent stressed that the speech linked action to condemnation: “every previous government had condemned but done nothing. This is different.”

He argued that given the potential political toxicity of the stand the government is taking Miliband in stating his clear opposition to BDS was making a tactical decision; it was “the right way to go.” But in displaying a “steely determination” the foreign secretary has “put the two-state solution back on the table.”

Sir Vincent added

To stop E1, when tenders are opened on 19 October we need to ensure that no Israeli bank guarantees any bid. Banks are risk averse. The risk to their operations here in the UK and partner countries is real. They need to know that.

The Miliband speech was co-ordinated with France and Canada in a joint statement released by Prime Minister Burnham, President Macron and Prime Minister Carney. It opened with the following:

A two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is critical for peace, stability and security in the Middle East and beyond. It is a fundamental national interest for the UK, France and Canada to protect and secure this outcome.

The statement concluded by noting that “today (8 September) marks a further turning point in our approach to protecting the two-state solution.”

Before Miliband rose to speak Israeli President Isaac Herzog had asserted “gross interference that if this happens – and other nations may join in – ultimately undermines the interests and national security of freedom-loving nations.” 12 such nations responded by backing David Miliband and the UK government.

Much remains to be done if the two-state solution is to be resuscitated. 19 October – when the Netanyahu government opens tenders for construction of E1 – is a crucial date. Before then Ed Miliband and the other countries backing the UK must put pressure on Israeli banks and other financial institutions with links to Israel to back away from supporting a government that is engaged in settler terrorism, ethnic cleansing and genocide.