UK to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements in policy reset
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband will announce on Tuesday a broad reset of UK-Israel relations, including a ban on trade in goods and some services from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The move marks a shift from rhetorical support for a two-state solution toward concrete action.
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is set to tell parliament on Tuesday about a significant shift in Britain's approach to Israel, pledging a more active role in backing Palestinian interests. Central to the announcement is a ban on trading goods and certain services originating from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Miliband is expected to adopt stronger language than his predecessors when addressing the humanitarian conditions facing Palestinians in Gaza, including his contested claim that Israeli forces are unnecessarily restricting aid deliveries — an allegation Israel's foreign ministry has denied. While the package will not meet every demand from Palestinian advocacy groups, it represents a move beyond rhetoric toward tangible measures against settlement expansion.
Polling by Opinium, published by the European Council on Foreign Relations, found only 18% of Britons oppose a settlement trade ban, versus 46% in favour.
International reaction
Israel has already threatened retaliation over Miliband's earlier aid remarks, while US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has accused the Labour government of antisemitism. Prime Minister Andy Burnham briefed Donald Trump and Gulf allies including Qatar ahead of the announcement.
The measures draw on the International Court of Justice's 2024 advisory opinion calling on states not to assist Israel's occupation. New rules may require primary legislation and will extend to financing and advertising linked to settlements. UK-Israel trade in goods and services totalled £6bn in 2025.
Urgency has grown due to Israel's E1 settlement project near Jerusalem, which could split the West Bank in two from November, alongside rising settler violence and the stalling of Trump's peace initiative after six months.
