Ed Miliband has been accused by Israeli and British political figures of creating conditions that could increase hostility towards Jewish people in Britain after the Foreign Secretary announced sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The diplomatic dispute has intensified following the government’s decision to adopt what Mr Miliband described as a “new approach” towards Israel, amid growing concern in London over plans for the E1 development in the West Bank.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Miliband said the proposed development would make a future two-state solution “unviable” by “cutting through the heart of Palestine”.
The Foreign Secretary also accused settler “terrorists”, whom he said were supported by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, of carrying out ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank.
His remarks prompted a sharp response from Israel’s embassy in London.
Alex Gandler, a spokesman for the Israeli embassy in the UK, told the BBC that the government’s “sanctions and the way they were presented create a fertile ground for antisemitism to flourish”.
He added: “It definitely does not promote the relationship between Israel and the United Kingdom, that is for sure, and it does create an atmosphere for violence against Jews.”
The intervention marks a significant deterioration in relations between London and Jerusalem, with the dispute over settlements increasingly spilling into a wider argument about the consequences of British policy for domestic community relations.
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis also criticised Labour’s decision, warning that those who “use hatred as a weapon against Jews” could be encouraged by the government’s approach.
He said: “The measures announced amount to little more than political flag-bearing for mendacious anti-Israel rhetoric and those who harbour a dangerous obsession with the Jewish State.
“These measures will succeed only in bolstering the very extremism they seek to target.”
The comments underline the political sensitivity surrounding Britain’s approach to Israel, particularly as ministers attempt to distinguish between criticism of the Israeli government and actions that could contribute to antisemitism or hostility towards British Jewish communities.
Mr Miliband’s sanctions were intended to increase pressure on those involved in settlement expansion, which the British government argues threatens the viability of an eventual Palestinian state.
However, critics argue that the language used by ministers in announcing the measures risks broadening the political dispute beyond the Israeli government and its settlement policy.
Richard Tice, Reform UK’s deputy leader, said Labour was making a “grave mistake” by imposing sanctions on Israel.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Tice accused the government of allowing domestic political considerations to shape foreign policy.
He said: “It is driven by kowtowing to the anti-Semites in the Labour Party, the anti-Semites on the Labour benches, the Islamists that he’s trying to kowtow to.
“It is a disaster for the safety and security of British Jews on British streets. That’s what I told the Foreign Secretary. As well as damaging our security relationship with the United States and indeed with Israel, that provide us with significant intelligence.
“Of course, it’s resulted, as I forecast in the Commons yesterday, in immediate tit-for-tat sanctions by Israel, which could grow and be very significant indeed. This is completely wrongheaded.
Frankly, if there are any emboldened incidents against British Jews in the United Kingdom, that blood will be on the hands of the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister.
His comments came after Israel responded to the British sanctions with its own retaliatory measures, raising the prospect of a more serious diplomatic rupture between the two countries.
The dispute presents a difficult balancing act for the government. Ministers are seeking to increase pressure on Israeli settlement expansion while maintaining Britain’s longstanding security and intelligence relationship with Israel.
But the reaction from the Israeli embassy, the Chief Rabbi and opposition politicians demonstrates the potential domestic political costs of the new approach.
For Mr Miliband, the immediate challenge will be to defend the distinction between sanctions directed at settlement activity and broader hostility towards Israel, while responding to concerns that increasingly confrontational rhetoric could have unintended consequences for Britain’s Jewish community.
The row is also likely to deepen questions about the future of UK-Israel relations after Israel’s retaliatory action. What began as a disagreement over West Bank settlements now threatens to develop into a wider diplomatic confrontation with implications for intelligence co-operation, regional policy and domestic community relations.
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