UK's Miliband announces sanctions on goods from West Bank over 'ethnic cleansing' by Israeli settlers

In a video statement, he called the situation in Palestine a “moral emergency” and said that there is increasing evidence of war crimes in Gaza.

“We are witnessing unprecedented settler terrorism in the West Bank,” he said.

“The British government has come to the same conclusion as the former prime minister of Israel and others, that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists.”

He noted that Tel Aviv had not only ignored these developments, but that members and officials had made statements or taken actions enabling the forced displacement of Palestinians.

“We will not stand by. We’re going to be stronger in standing up for what is right, and bolder in the action we take,” Miliband said, adding that London’s north star was the two-state solution.

“Today, we are calling out the occupation of Palestine as unlawful,” he added.

“We are banning the import of goods from illegal settlements, we’re taking action on services to target those who finance, facilitate or construct new settlements, and we’re banning advertisements of settlement properties and land.”

In parliament today, Miliband said the British government would introduce “an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories”, in a move coordinated with other countries.