Ed Miliband MP: speeches

Speeches

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady raises a very, very important case, and I am glad that she has done. I am happy to look at it and will endeavour to do everything I can to make a difference.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend has played an incredibly important role in the advocacy on these issues, including through the International Development Committee, and I take all her points on board. One of the things that we will seek to do through events that will take place at the United Nations—not just the conference we are holding with Jordan, but other events that we will be announcing shortly—is precisely to try to get at these issues. The situation in Gaza is so urgent and so desperate that we must do everything we can to act.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  As I said earlier, when we impose sanctions on specific companies or entities, we do not say who they are in advance. However, I do not think I could have been clearer about the intent here; as I said in my statement, we do not want British companies being involved in the financing, construction or infrastructure of settlement expansion. That will be the purpose of the regime when it comes to services, and that is what we will make happen.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend asks a really important question—I am glad she did—and I said in my statement that there will be suitable religious exemptions from the import ban. Some hon. Members may wonder why it takes six to nine months to bring this in. It is precisely because we want to get it right, and getting it right means a proper dialogue with the Jewish community.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  I thank the shadow Foreign Secretary for his response. It is our first time opposite each other at the Dispatch Box, so let me congratulate him on his appointment—he has a proud record in Parliament as Security Minister and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, and brings great expertise to this House. However, I profoundly disagree with his conclusions. At the beginning of his speech, he mentioned a number of things that we agree on, and it is important to highlight those. I will answer his specific questions in a moment, but the underlying problem of his position is this. He supports the two-state solution with great vigour; he believes in the two-state solution; he sees the two-state solution being destroyed before our eyes; and I am afraid his prescription is to do nothing about it. There is a choice that we face in this. Do we stand by? Are we bystanders to the end of a long-established Government policy, and indeed the only hope for security and stability in the middle east, or do we act? We have chosen to act, and I think that the country—most of the country—will be with us, because we cannot simply stand by. Let me now deal with the points made by the right hon. Gentleman. I say this with the greatest respect to him, but the voices that I listen to more than his on the Palestinian people are those of the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority and Palestine’s ambassador to the UK. Both of them have been urging us to act, and have been urging us to act for a long time. I think that this is a profound point: their voices are incredibly important in this debate. I utterly reject the idea that we want to make Israel a pariah state. I could not have been clearer in my statement about our friendship with the Israeli people, and indeed our wish to have trade with Green Line Israel, but, in a sense, we have to take a view about the occupation. If the occupation is illegal, do we want to maintain, at the level of principle, normal economic relationships? We say no. The right hon. Gentleman apparently says yes, which I think is a mistake. Is this a coherent policy? Absolutely. As I said, it will take six to nine months to come into place, and we will have discussions with Members of the House and others, but it is a SAMLA—Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018—based sanctions regime. There are sanctions regimes involving a number of other countries. Will it be geographic? It will be in relation to the import ban. It will be focused on the settlements in the occupied territories, and we will absolutely ensure that it does not hit green-line Israel. The right hon. Gentleman says that we should act with others. We have assembled a very wide international coalition precisely to act with others. As for community cohesion, it is incredibly important, but the point—the absolute core—is that surely we must all accept what I said in my statement. We can disagree with the Government of Israel. We can take action with the Government of Israel, and at the same time be absolutely steadfast in protecting Jews across Britain and across the world. We cannot let these debates be confused. I am confident about our intelligence and security partnerships, which I talked about in my statement. The right hon. Gentleman also asked about medical supplies, and so on; they will absolutely be protected. Let me finally say—to all Members—that one fact that has been most apparent to me in my seven weeks or so in this job is that Britain is a highly respected partner across the world. Britain has influence. Britain has reach. We cannot take the view of Britain that we are powerless in the face of injustice, and today we say that we are not powerless; we can act.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend speaks with great expertise on these issues, and she is absolutely right. We are going to act in our national interest on the basis of our values. That is not just our right but our duty as a country.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his contribution. His experience speaks to the frustration of Ministers on both sides of this House who have repeatedly tried to make a difference, pleading with Israeli Ministers to see what was going on and to act on it, and who have been rebuffed. That is what has led to today’s announcement.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  I agree with my hon. Friend, and I again praise her for her work on this issue. I am grateful for the kind words about my statement, but I feel a deep sense of humility when compared, for example, with people I have met such as the doctor—a British paediatrician—who was going to Gaza to try to help children and people who are sick. There are so many people in our country who have not only campaigned on this issue, but actually gone there and tried to make a difference, and I think we should recognise them today.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  Absolutely; we talk with all partners in Israel. I do not want to in any sense interfere in that election. The election is for the Israeli people to make their own decisions about their future. I have set out the policy of the British Government, and I have made it clear that our quarrel is not with the Israeli people, but with the policies of the Netanyahu Government. I said something in my statement that I would just highlight to the right hon. Member, which is that we will assess the actions of any Israeli Government in the future whether on Gaza or the west bank.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  I will undertake to look at that issue. We are very clear that we do not want to see illegal settlement expansion, so I promise to look at this. I want to take this opportunity to thank all Members of this House for their questions, and I reiterate my undertaking to work with Members across Parliament as we take forward these issues.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  I gently say to the hon. Gentleman that under the previous Prime Minister this Government recognised the state of Palestine. That was a major thing that we did. I praise my predecessors for that, and we also took action on arms licences. I do not completely accept the picture he gives. I do agree though, and the Prime Minister has said this, that we need to do more. That is what we have done today. I think the sanctions regime will make a substantive difference, and that is absolutely our intention. He is right that once we bring in the sanctions regime, we will, as always, keep its scope under review.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  I undertake to work with Members across the House on these questions; more unites us than divides us on them, and we do need to act. I say to the hon. Member and others in the House that part of acting is upholding Israel’s right to exist and its security, which includes opposing BDS, because part of being faithful to a two-state solution is upholding the rights of the Palestinian people and the Israeli people.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  Well, that was worth my hon. Friend getting some extra time—thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. My hon. Friend raises a really important issue around education, and an important issue around the safety of Jewish children going to school in the UK. We will take forward both of those issues.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  Yes, my hon. Friend is absolutely right about this. E1 crossed a long-standing red line for the international community, which is why we saw such an outpouring from our allies. He is absolutely right about the urgency of acting.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend raises an important point, which is that the number of aid workers and health workers killed in Gaza is appalling and dreadful. My hon. Friend the Minister for the Middle East and I are happy to meet him and others—particularly in the run up to UNGA, but also beyond—because we need to try to make a difference.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I say to Members of the House that while I am critical of the current Israeli Government, this occupation has become entrenched over a long period. We have to work to unwind it and find ways in which we can get back to a two-state solution, and we have to act urgently.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for the conversation we had earlier. He raises such an important issue about the healthcare crisis in Gaza. The answer is that we want to do as much as we can as a country, and as much as we can working with others. I spoke to the Jordanian Foreign Minister on Sunday about an event that we are going to hold at the UN General Assembly, and one of the things that we both agreed on was that we want to move things forward and make a difference. I absolutely promise my hon. Friend that that is what we will endeavour to do.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support for the measures we are announcing today, and I recognise his advocacy on this issue over a sustained period. Let me deal with his questions in turn. We fully support the work of the ICJ, including in the so-called South Africa case. We have previously submitted to the Court on the question of Myanmar, which I think will help inform some of its deliberations, and we look forward to the ICJ continuing its work. The hon. Gentleman refers to the ruling of unlawfulness. That is where we have taken a view as a Government that the occupation is unlawful. We concur with the conclusions of the ICJ. It is a matter of principle what we then do across our economic relationships, and today I have announced the measures that we are taking. The hon. Gentleman raises the issue of arms, and I talked in my statement about the double lock. I want to take on his point on the F-35s. To be clear with the House, we stopped providing direct parts to Israel’s F-35 programme in October 2024, under my right hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy) when he was Foreign Secretary. The only provision we make now is indirectly to the global supply programme. I am afraid that those who say we should stop supplying parts to the global supply chain are actually advocating the downing of the whole programme, which is crucial to our NATO and other allies. I want to be clear about that. Obviously, our ruling on legality is an important one. We will continue to keep all our responsibilities under review, including in relation to the F-35 programme, but I wanted to set that out for the hon. Gentleman. We are extending the global human rights regime to international law. We think this will be another important tool that we have to take action, because the sanctions regime did not previously apply to breaches of international humanitarian law. As we set about our sanctions regime for settlements in the occupied territories, this will give us a faster tool to act, and I am very happy for us have discussions about that. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that we must provide support for reform of the Palestinian Authority, that Hamas must disarm and cannot be part of a future Government in Gaza as part of the 20-point plan and, let us be frank, that we need to accelerate the implementation of the 20-point plan. There was some hope when the 20-point plan was produced but, frankly, the situation in Gaza is unspeakable, and the plan is not being implemented as it should be. I end by saying to the hon. Gentleman and Members of all parties that I want to work with people across the House who have worked on this issue over a long period, so that we get the legislation right and get our action right. As much as is possible, I think we can be united on this.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  I want to see Israel withdraw from Gaza and I want to see Hamas disarm. That is the whole point of the 20-point plan—I agree with the right hon. Member on that. Campaigners on the issue have played an important role. The way in which young people and people across the country—not just in Britain but across the world—have been mobilised on this issue should tell all of us in this House something about the deep sense of injustice that people feel about what has unfolded. On the right hon. Member’s point about intelligence—I want to be careful on this—we are not, in any sense, helping with the occupation, but we have important and valued intelligence and security relationships with Israel.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  I send my deepest condolences to the family of my hon. Friend’s constituent. What happened was a horrifying event. Those were people trying to make a difference in a humanitarian way to the people of Gaza. I will endeavour to talk to her, along with the Minister for the Middle East, about whether we can do more on that issue and what that might be.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  If I may say so, I find the question the hon. Member asked and what she said incredibly moving, and I am very glad she asks that question. Let me say to her and Members across this House that I undertake to work together on these questions. I know that a lot of work has been going on before I became Foreign Secretary, including with Ministers, but I think there now is a real opportunity to work together across parties, and I say from this Dispatch Box that I will make sure that happens.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  If I may say so, I do not think that is a very responsible way of talking about these issues. The hon. Gentleman is welcome to disagree with our actions, as I think the right hon. Member for Tonbridge (Tom Tugendhat) did, but I do not think he should be talking in this way. I could not have been clearer in my statement that no British Jew is responsible for the policies of the Israeli Government, and it behoves us all, whichever side of this debate we are on, to ensure that there can be no confusion about that question. I am afraid his question fell afoul of that.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  We will look at all these issues as part of our sanctions regime. It is important to protect trade with green-line Israel and financial services within it as well, and that is why we want to be careful with this sanctions regime. On the first part of the hon. Lady’s remarks, I thank her for what she said. I do feel a sense of humility. If I could just add this, Madam Deputy Speaker: as some in this House will know, my late mother, who died a few months ago, was a big campaigner on these issues, and I have thought quite a lot in this process about what she might be saying on these issues.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  We want to do everything we can to help Palestinian children in Gaza and the west bank. The best thing we can do is get a two-state solution without the intimidation, threats, death and destruction that so many Palestinian children have faced. I take this opportunity to congratulate the children at the school in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency on being moved by this issue and advocating on it.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend has campaigned on these issues for a long time. He is absolutely right about the importance of both accountability and international law. We will be guided by it.