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<\/a><\/p>\nSecretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Ed Miliband speaks at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, (Wiktor Szymanowicz\/Future Publishing via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
His attack comes a number of weeks after he told the British Parliament that his country planned to reset its relationship with Israel and ban trade with its West Bank settlements.<\/p>\n
In an initial nod of support to the Jewish state, Miliband, who is Jewish, described how three years ago \u201cHamas\u2019 murderous attack on Oct. 7th united the vast majority of the world in rightful condemnation.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Labour Party, he said, will battle antisemitism and \u201cwill always recognise the threats Israel faces and stand emphatically against those who seek its destruction. But this cannot justify the suffering the Netanyahu government has inflicted in Gaza and the West Bank.\u201d<\/p>\n
He had a message, Miliband said, for the millions of people who had been moved and outraged by the plight of the Palestinian people: \u201cWe hear you. You were right.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the government would call out \u201cethnic cleansing by the settler terrorists in the West Bank,\u201d the \u201cevidence of war crimes in Gaza\u201d and Israel\u2019s \u201cillegal occupation of Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Britain remains committed to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said, and to helping prevent the destruction of that option.<\/p>\n
Miliband repeated his government\u2019s pledge to ban West Bank settlement products and prevent his country\u2019s financial institutions, construction companies and service industry from operating in Israeli-controlled areas beyond the pre-1967 lines.<\/p>\n
Laying out the global challenges, he spoke of Iran, Russia, climate change and AI, but he focused on Israel more than on any other issue.<\/p>\n
He recalled his Jewish parents\u2019 experiences fleeing and surviving Nazi persecution and finding sanctuary in Britain, \u201ca country that was a beacon of light against the darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, as then, Miliband said, Britain has to confront global challenges by fighting for its values, \u201cthe values my parents saw in Britain, values which today are more important than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
His parents did not think it was enough to simply live in a country with values: \u201cThey taught me that I have a responsibility to fight for them too,\u201d Miliband said as he spoke of the idea of survivor\u2019s guilt.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think my parents had something else. Survivor\u2019s responsibility,\u201d he said, adding that it\u2019s a message passed to the next generation to leave the \u201cworld a better place than we found it\u201d by never being \u201cbystanders to oppression and injustice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Palestinian ambassador to Britain, Husam Zomlot, responded to Miliband\u2019s speech on X: \u201cThank you to the millions of people in Britain and around the world who stood firmly on the side of justice, on the side of Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel currently has no ambassador posted in the U.K. Tzahi Braverman, Netanyahu\u2019s former chief of staff, was appointed to the post but has been unable to take it up while under criminal investigation for obstruction of justice, fraud and breach of trust and is barred from leaving the country.<\/p>\n
Tensions have been rising between London and Jerusalem. Until the Gaza war, Britain had been one of Israel\u2019s staunchest allies. Ties frayed under the former Labour government of Keir Starmer, which last year recognized Palestinian statehood. Relations have been even more strained since Labour Prime Minister Andy Burnham\u2019s new government was sworn into office in July.<\/p>\n
In the aftermath of the U.K.\u2019s decision to ban imports of Jewish West Bank settlement products, with France and Canada joining that move, Israel took a number of retaliatory measures. These included closing the British consulate in Jerusalem and removing its representatives from the International Gaza Support Center.<\/p>\n