Ed Miliband has told MPs that the British government agrees that Palestinians are being subjected to ethnic cleansing in parts of the occupied West Bank, accusing “settler terrorists” of carrying out the displacement.
The foreign secretary cited remarks by former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, who has described events in the territory as “a violent and criminal effort to ethnically cleanse territories in the West Bank”.
Miliband also quoted Ephraim Sneh, a former Israeli health minister and retired brigadier general in the Israel Defense Forces, who said: “This is ethnic cleansing, pure and simple.”
The foreign secretary said the Israeli government had “all too often” turned a blind eye to the issue, while some members of the government had made statements or taken actions that supported the forced displacement of Palestinians.
He acknowledged the gravity of the language being used, arguing that it was “the least the people who face such suffering deserve”.
The comments came as the UK announced a series of measures targeting individuals and activities connected with violations of international humanitarian law, including in Gaza.
Miliband confirmed that Britain would extend its global human rights sanctions regime to cover those responsible for such violations. The government will also ban imports of goods from illegal settlements and prohibit their advertising.
Further measures will target services linked to settlement expansion and settler violence, according to the foreign secretary.
Britain will use the UN General Assembly in New York this month to “shine the clearest and harshest spotlight” on the situation, while working with Jordan to convene international partners around improving health and humanitarian access.
The UK will also join a growing coalition, led by Arab countries, calling for the full implementation of a US-led 20-point plan.
Miliband said the government would continue to judge Israel “by its actions” as the newly announced measures were implemented.
He told MPs that achieving a two-state solution remained the “North Star” of the government’s Middle East policy, while expressing deep “shame” over the course of events in Gaza and the West Bank.
Gaza, he said, had experienced “the most unimaginable trauma and suffering” over the past three years, with the scale of “death, destruction, and dehumanization” representing “a stain on the conscience of the world and of this country too”.
On the West Bank, Miliband criticised Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, accusing him of seeking to “bury the idea of a Palestinian state”.
The foreign secretary said there was a “deeply painful contrast” between Britain’s stated commitment to a two-state solution and the reality developing on the ground.
The government’s measures represent a significant hardening of Britain’s language on Israeli settlement activity and settler violence, while maintaining its stated commitment to a negotiated two-state settlement.
For the UK government, the challenge will be to translate its increasingly forceful rhetoric and sanctions policy into diplomatic leverage while maintaining its influence over efforts to end the conflict and secure humanitarian access.
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