Key facts
- Ed Miliband acknowledged Labour's past approach on Palestine fell short.
- Miliband announced sanctions on goods from illegal Israeli settlements.
- Sanctions on Israeli settlements have been imposed by France and Canada.
- Miliband stated the UK will take more progressive foreign policy positions.
- Labour will ban imports from illegal settlements and disrupt supply lines for them.
- Miliband called out "ethnic cleansing by the settler terrorists in the West Bank".
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is set to acknowledge that the Labour party's previous stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was insufficient, stating that the party is now heeding the calls of millions by imposing sanctions on Israeli settlements. Speaking at the Labour party conference, Miliband will outline a more progressive foreign policy under the leadership of Andy Burnham, positioning the UK as a leader among like-minded nations.
Miliband's speech comes after the Labour conference hall saw significant opposition to Keir Starmer's previous approach to the conflict. The sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements, implemented against a backdrop of increased settler violence in the West Bank, have already been mirrored by 12 other countries, including France and Canada. Miliband will frame this as a definitive shift in Labour's approach to the Middle East.