Miliband rejects chief rabbi’s claim that West Bank sanctions put UK Jews at risk. Foreign secretary says Sir Ephraim Mirvis wrong to suggest measures against Israeli settlements will make British Jews less safe

Ed Miliband said the UK government’s sanctions, coordinated with France, Canada and nine other countries, were the ‘right thing to do’. Photograph: James Manning/PA

Aletha Adu Political correspondent

Wed 9 Sep 2026

Ed Miliband has rejected warnings from the UK’s chief rabbi that the government’s sanctions against illegal Israeli settlements will make British Jews less safe, as he emphasised ministers can confront the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government while also fighting antisemitism.

The foreign secretary announced sweeping sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank on Tuesday, with the government taking the position that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory was unlawful.

The measures were coordinated with France, Canada and nine other countries that were also introducing sanctions on Israel over the increasing expansion of settlements, which the UK government says is threatening the future of a Palestinian state.

In a joint statement, leaders including Andy Burnham, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney said: “The time has come to take further action to uphold our commitment to protect the two-state solution, our interests and to stand up for our values, before it is too late.”... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/09/ed-miliband-rejects-chief-rabbi-claim-west-bank-sanctions-british-jews-less-safe

AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies here, there- and everywhere]  

The Guardian view on Britain’s new Middle East policy: an unlawful occupation must carry a price- Ed Miliband has delivered Britain’s toughest indictment of Israeli conduct in Palestinian lands - and rightly says this has economic consequences

Aqraba, West Bank:  A view of a new illegal Israeli outpost being built on Palestinian land south of Nablus Photograph: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images ...The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

 

Opinion 

Palestine 

 Tue 8 Sep 2026

Rarely in recent years has the Commons felt like the cockpit of history. On Tuesday it did. The foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, placed Britain at the head of a 12-country coalition considering economic restrictions on Israel’s illegal settlements, with the UK, France and Canada committing to national trade bans.

The move comes after escalating numbers of attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian villages in the West Bank. International opinion seemed to shift decisively after Israel gave the go-ahead for 1,200 homes in the E1 settlement that would cleave the West Bank into two – using illegal settlements to bury Palestinian statehood for good. Mr Miliband added that evidence of war crimes in Gaza was mounting, making the overdue case for Britain to recast its economic and military relationship with Israel.

Mr Miliband, who is Jewish and lost more than 60 relatives at the hands of the Nazis, declared himself to be a friend of Israel. But clearly he thinks friends should talk straight to each other. Mr Miliband has delivered perhaps the toughest official British indictment of Israeli conduct in recent history, declaring that “ethnic cleansing” is taking place in the West Bank and accusing members of Israel’s government of supporting forced displacement.

Probably the most consequential move by Mr Miliband is to formally declare the occupation of the Palestinian territories unlawful, in line with the international court of justice’s 2024 opinion. The import ban logically follows. But private acts will have to change too. British companies could soon have to ask whether they are profiting from – or helping to sustain – an illegal occupation.

To emphasise this point, the foreign secretary also promised to take action against those providing construction, infrastructure and financing services, because a goods-only ban would leave untouched the commercial activity sustaining unlawful settlements. He also committed to target extremist settlers and to refuse to license arms sales that “contribute to the occupation”. By simultaneously sanctioning Iran and Hezbollah, the UK is signalling that it recognises the threats Israel faces while opposing its illegal actions... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/08/the-guardian-view-on-britains-new-middle-east-policy-an-unlawful-occupation-must-carry-a-price

AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies here, there- and everywhere]