Ed Miliband

The Israeli government has too often “turned a blind eye” to the violence

The British government considers Israel’s occupation of the West Bank unlawful

Settlement expansion and attempts to create irreversible divisions on the ground threaten peace, security and the prospects for a viable Palestinian state. Britain will not stand back and accept the destruction of the two-state solution.

We should have acted earlier, and it has taken the new prime minister to come in to recognise the gravity of the situation, to recognise the degree of public concern on these questions.

What has occurred, including the actions of the IDF, have been examined in depth by a number of organisations, including the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry.

We must and we will ensure this never happens again. So we will ban the advertising in the UK of illegal settlements.

I do not believe the British people want us supporting the occupation by accepting products from settlements in our shops and supermarkets. So I can announce today that we will introduce an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in…

The official view of the British Government is that the occupation is unlawful, because of Israel’s entrenchment of its control, its intention to extend permanent sovereignty, and its expansionist agenda via illegal settlements.

The conclusions of these reports represent increasing evidence that war crimes appear to have been committed, and we support legal processes to determine this.

I pledge we will continue to do everything we can to provide all the humanitarian support possible to help the people of Gaza.

We act in concert with others in a broad international coalition.

I utterly reject the idea that we want to make Israel a pariah state. I couldn’t have been more clear in my statement about our friendship with the Israeli people and indeed our wish to have trade with green line Israel.

There is a choice that we face in this, which is – 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?

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’m afraid his prescription is…

I want to do this as quickly as possible. And I just say this – six to nine months is what I’ve said in the statement, if we can do it quicker, we will.

Our argument is not with the people of Israel, with whom the UK has unshakeable bonds. Our argument is with the conduct of its government.

We will now also refuse all licence applications for arms and other exports that materially contribute to the occupation, in effect a double lock against arms sales.

Settlements are illegal. They should not be promoted in our country.

I recognise the gravity of saying this, but the truth is the least the people who face such suffering deserve. And it should be the prelude to justice.

The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists.

When you hear that account of what is happening, you know that we as a UK Government, as the Prime Minister has said, have got to act and act more decisively than we have.

The UK government needed to act more decisively to alleviate conditions in Gaza.

Frankly, it was horrific, what is unfolding.

We as a UK Government, as the Prime Minister has said, have got to act and act more decisively than we have.

You know, the stories that people were telling me of medicines being blocked, children dying while waiting for vital life-saving treatment.