UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has accused Israel of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and announced sanctions against Israeli settlements. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.

Miliband said Israeli "terrorists" are conducting ethnic cleansing in the West Bank with the tacit backing of the government. He stated that the UK government will now officially take the position that Israel's occupation of the West Bank is unlawful in its entirety. This is the strongest condemnation ever issued by the UK government.

Miliband said: "The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists." He noted that the Israeli government has often turned a blind eye, and some members have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians.

Measures announced by the UK government:

  • 01An import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories.
  • 02A comprehensive sanctions regime against providing services such as construction or financing for Israeli settlements.
  • 03A ban on advertising in the UK of illegal settlement properties.
  • 04Personal sanctions against key individuals accused of promoting settler violence.
  • 05A new ban on arms licences and other exports that "materially contribute to the occupation".

Miliband said the action would show that "Britain is not silent in the face of deep injustice and nor is it powerless". He described the agony he had heard from Palestinians in the West Bank whose homes had been destroyed and from doctors in Gaza who had seen children dying waiting for medical treatment.

The UK's actions have been made increasingly urgent by Israel's plans to expand the E1 settlement project east of Jerusalem, which could in effect cut off the north from the south of the West Bank, threatening the viability of any future Palestinian state.

Miliband said those who financed or facilitated illegal settlements would "face the full force of UK sanctions" and that he expected the legislation to enforce the trade ban and sanctions to be in place within nine months. He stopped short of describing Israel's actions in Gaza as a genocide, saying the UK would wait for the determination of the international courts.

Miliband said: "I am doing this not only as Foreign Secretary but also as a proud British Jew with relatives who found safety in Israel after the Holocaust." He stated there is no contradiction between his support for the state of Israel and his support for the state of Palestine.

He also announced that the UK would impose sanctions on Lebanese Hezbollah's financing arm, Al-Qard al-Hassan, and reimpose major economic sanctions on Iran in line with the EU and US.

Miliband said he felt a "deep sense of shame about what has unfolded in Palestine under the eyes of the international community" and that there had been "the most unimaginable trauma and suffering in the last three years – death, destruction and dehumanisation on an appalling scale".

The Foreign Secretary said the action marked the beginning of a new approach towards Israel and Palestine. "Our argument is not with the people of Israel, with whom the UK has unshakeable bonds. Our argument is with the conduct of its government."

Miliband said the actions of the Israeli government in the West Bank meant more settlements had been approved in the last four years than in the last 20 years combined. He expressed belief that the majority of the British people would support the ban on trade with illegal settlements.

The UK government knew there were also concerns about arms sales to Israel, he said. The UK had already suspended more than 30 arms licences used by the IDF in Gaza, but would now go further. "We will now also refuse all licence applications for arms and other exports that materially contribute to the occupation, in effect a double lock against arms sales. This means the ban on such exports will now remain as long as the occupation persists," he said.

The UK would support "full, robust and fair judicial processes" to determine Israel's actions.