Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is expected to announce a significant reset of the United Kingdom's relations with Israel on Tuesday, pledging a more active government stance in support of the Palestinian cause. The intervention, scheduled for a statement to MPs, is likely to draw intense scrutiny from both Washington and Tel Aviv. But by acting decisively on trade, Miliband has set aside warnings that a polarising UK intervention might help Benjamin Netanyahu’s chances in Israel’s 27 October election.
As part of this shift, Miliband will implement a formal UK ban on the trade of goods and certain services originating from illegal Israeli settlements. Products produced in Israeli settlements located within the territories occupied by Israel since 1967 have not been entitled to preferential tariff treatment upon entry into the UK since 2005. He has already signaled to civil society groups his commitment to reasserting the necessity of a two-state solution, while emphasizing the importance of protecting Palestinian rights and upholding international law. Miliband is expected to employ firmer rhetoric than his predecessors when addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, specifically calling out the injustices facing the Palestinian population.
While these measures may not satisfy all demands from Palestinian advocacy groups, they represent a departure from traditional rhetorical support toward concrete action aimed at curbing the expansion of settlements in the West Bank. The UK reset was made more urgent by Israel’s E1 settlement project east of Jerusalem that is poised to effectively cut the occupied West Bank in 1 two from November. Such expansion is widely viewed as a deliberate effort to undermine the viability of a future Palestinian state. The UK government faces domestic pressure to act, particularly with polling from the European Council on Foreign Relations—conducted by Opinium—showing that Britons across the political spectrum support a ban on trade with illegal settlements by a margin of more than two to one. Specifically, 46% of UK adults favor such a ban, while only 18% oppose it.
Miliband intends to maintain his assertion that the Israel Defense Forces are imposing unnecessary controls on aid entering Gaza, an allegation that has been strongly denied by the Israeli foreign ministry. Despite criticism from the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who accused the Labour government of harboring anti-Jewish sentiment, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has engaged with international leaders, including Donald Trump and the Emir of Qatar, to brief them on the regional strategy. The UK government is also navigating internal political pressures, including the upcoming 8 October by-election in Holborn and St Pancras, where the Green Party leader, Zack Polanski, is expected to challenge Labour.
The proposed measures will likely require primary legislation to enforce the trade ban, which will extend to services such as financing and advertising related to illegal settlements. The UK officially considers all Israeli civilian settlements built on territories captured during the 1967 six-day war to be illegal under international law. In 2025, the total trade in goods and services between the UK and Israel amounted to £6 billion. The decision to act follows the 2024 ICJ advisory opinion, which requires governments to refrain from assisting the occupation of Palestinian territory.
