The government is set to unveil a ban on the trade of goods and some services from Israeli settlements in the West Bank after promising to take a tougher stance in support of Gaza.
It is understood that foreign secretary Ed Miliband will make the announcement in the Commons on Tuesday as part of a reset of Britain’s relations with Israel.
The decision comes in response to controversial plans in the occupied West Bank, in which Israel issued tenders for 1,200 homes as part of the E1 settlement project.
Mr Miliband described the plans as an “unacceptable and destructive act” as he vowed to take action, with Israel warning it would retaliate to any response from the UK.
He said last month: “In the coming weeks we will set out a comprehensive set of measures to respond to Israeli government policies, protect the viability of the Palestinian state, target sanctions at those who participate in illegal settlement expansion and support a just and lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians.”
Mr Miliband’s latest announcement is expected to draw strong criticism from the US, with the Trump administration set to issue a statement condemning the move, The Times reported.
Andy Burnham is understood to have discussed the plans in a phone call with Donald Trump on Monday, with Downing Street saying the prime minister “set out the UK’s commitment to working towards peace and security in the region, stressing the importance of the two-state solution.”
It comes just days after the US president’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, accused the British government of “Jew hate” after Mr Miliband said vital medicines on their way to Gaza were being blocked.
In a video describing what he had been told by people working in the area, the foreign secretary said: “Frankly, it was horrific, what is unfolding.
“The stories that people were telling me of medicines being blocked [and] children dying while waiting for vital life-saving treatment.”
Mr Huckabee hit back on X, writing: “The Brits have lost it. The Jew hate of their government knows no boundaries and knows no facts.”
Israel promised earlier this month that it would respond if Britain imposed sanctions over its plans to expand West Bank settlements.
“If Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain,” foreign minister Gideon Saar said “If they act, I think they will be making a big mistake.”
Violence and land and water seizures by militant Jewish settlers have risen in the West Bank since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel.
Mr Miliband said the impact of settler violence “has been catastrophic for Palestinian communities.
“Settlement expansion and attempts to create irreversible divisions on the ground threaten peace, security and the prospects for a viable Palestinian state. Britain will not stand back and accept the destruction of the two-state solution.”
A YouGov survey found that 50 per cent of Britons would support a ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, while only 16 per cent would oppose such a move.
