The Jewish Leadership Council, which represents many of the UK’s Jewish organisations, has accused the government of putting an “increased target on British Jews” by banning imports of goods from Israeli settlements.

In a statement, the council described the decision as “deeply irresponsible” and alleged that the government was “yielding to pressure from the most extreme elements of British society”.

"The government's increasingly punitive and unbalanced approach towards Israel does nothing to advance peace, risks harming Jewish life in Britain, and damages the UK's relationship with a vital ally," the JLC adds.

The JLC was among the Jewish groups invited to meet Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner in Downing Street last week to discuss the issue of antisemitism in the UK ahead of the upcoming Jewish High Holy Days.

Image source, Getty Images

Campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the UK's import ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements is, amongst other sanctions, is a "long-awaited and positive change in Britain’s policy".

In a statement, HRW says governments have "for too long" responded to the Israeli' government's "incessant and grave violations of international law with earnest words but little action".

ActionAid UK describes the announcement as welcome and significant, if "long overdue", saying it is the UK's "first step" to "ending its complicity in Israel’s unlawful occupation".

"As state-backed settler violence reaches record levels... the UK must also take further action to hold the Israeli government accountable," a statement from the charity reads.

Amnesty International UK says the foreign secretary's announcement could be "the sea change that is needed", describing it as "hugely welcome".

"Today's measures are a genuine step towards accountability for Israel's repeated and flagrant violations of international law," it adds.

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller says his party supports the foreign secretary in "robustly challenging the illegal actions" of the Israeli government.

He says this is compatible with the right of both Israel and Palestine to exist, and the "resolute support" for the rights of British Jews to live "free from the scourge of Jewish hatred".

Asked if the UK will ban all arms exports to Israel, including components of F35 fighter jets, Miliband says the UK "stopped providing direct parts to Israel's F35 programme in October 2024".

"The only provision we make now is indirectly to the global supply chain," he says, adding that those that oppose this are advocating for the "downing of the whole programme", which he describes as "crucial".

Miliband said earlier France and Canada would also announce a ban on the importing of good from illegal settlements.

A joint statement from the foreign ministers of 12 countries has just been shared, on their intentions to impose restrictions on trade with illegal settlements.

The countries are: France, the UK, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden.

The statement says the two-state solution must be protected and calls on the Israeli government to immediately halt the expansion of settlements.

Tugendhat puts a number of questions to Miliband, asking what conversations he has had with allies about today's decision, and what assessment he has made of the impact on domestic security and community cohesion in UK.

Tugendhat says there is "growing antisemitism" in the UK, and increasing violence against Jewish targets.

He adds we can criticise the Israeli government while still defending the right of the Jewish people to a home, and concludes that we don't make peace from just one side, nor make it alone.

Miliband begins his response saying he profoundly disagrees with him on his conclusions.

He says Tugendhat supports and believes in a two-state solution, sees it being destroyed by his prescription is to do nothing about it.

Image source, UK Parliament

Shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat is now speaking, saying the Conservatives agree with the government that the current path is leading Israelis and Palestinians towards a "darker, more dangerous future".

He says this isn't about reducing to complexity of the region to a single sentence, before adding: "Sadly, the government is in the process of doing just that."

Tugendhat says the UK's decision to recognise the state of Palestine last year goes against laws Britain has defended since 1933, adding that the economies of Palestine and Israel are so interconnected that "innocent Palestinians and Israelis will suffer".

He also says turning Israel into a "pariah" will risk a "further rise in antisemitic violence on our own streets".

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has just announced an import ban on goods from Israeli settlements in the illegally occupied West Bank, as well as further sanctions.

Here is what we have heard:

• Miliband announced the import ban in the Commons, stating he does not believe "the British people want us supporting the occupation by accepting products from settlements in our shops"
• He said a "comprehensive sanction regime" will be set up, including "appropriate religious exemptions"

• Addressing those who facilitate illegal settlements, Miliband said: "You will face the full force of UK sanctions"
• He also told MPs that the UK agrees there is ethnic cleansing in areas of the West Bank - accusing "settler terrorists" of driving Palestinians from their land: "And all too often, the Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this"
• He said the view of the government is that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank is "unlawful"
• "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," he said
• He also announced the ban of advertising illegal West Bank settlements in the UK
• "The sanctions regime will target illegal settlements and settlement expansion, not Israel," the foreign secretary added

Miliband also announced the UK was also sanctioning a further set of "extremist settlers" who have "supported or incited act of violence" against Palestinian communities.

"I can also announce that we're extending the existing global human rights regime such that it will enable swifter action to deter settlement expansion, including crucially seeking to prevent the development of E1 [a proposed settlement east of Jerusalem]," he added.

Miliband says France and Canada will also announce a ban on the importing of goods from illegal settlements today

They will be joining the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway which have either banned goods or are in the process of doing so.

Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden have pledged today they will support further action too, Miliband says.

He ends by saying this country is "a Britain that upholds its values at home and around the world, a Britain that fights against oppression and suffering wherever it occurs, a Britain that stands up for what is right".

Continuing to discuss Gaza, Miliband cites numbers of those killed and adds the "vast majority" of the population is displaced.

International law imposes clear rules including on access to food and medical supplies, he continues.

On the question of whether there has been a "genocide" in Gaza, the UK has always supported a "full" and "robust" process to consider allegations, Miliband says, with considerations by the courts first.

"That will remain our policy."

He says it is right the matter is before the International Court of Justice.

"We support the court in coming to its determination," he says while pledging to continue to do all they can to provide as much humanitarian support for the people of Gaza.

Image source, Reuters

Regarding Gaza, Miliband calls on Hamas to decommission its weapons and dismantle its "terrorist infrastructure".

He says that under the 20-point peace plan: "Hamas can play no role in the future governance of Gaza."

The foreign secretary says Israel has the right to live without fear, but adds that over 70,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including 20,000 children.

Miliband also says lifesaving humanitarian aid and access had been routinely blocked, adding over 60% of homes are "in ruins".

Miliband now moves to arms sales. He says the UK has already suspended over 30 arms licences used by the IDF in Gaza - which he says remain "fully in place".

He says the UK will now also refuse all licence applications for arms and other exports that "materially contribute to the occupation", and he describes this as creating "a double lock against arms sales". The ban on such exports will remain in place as long as the occupation persists, he says.

Miliband urges Israel to lift its "withholding of revenues" that is "financially crippling" the provision of essential services in the West Bank.

And he says the set of measures he has announced represent a "clear message" to the government of Israel, to the "Palestinians in the occupied territories, and to the world" that "we will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution".

Image source, House of Commons

The foreign secretary says the UK will "take action" against companies and individuals that provide services, such as construction or finance, for settlement expansion.

"You will face the full force of UK sanctions," he says, adding that the advertisement of illegal settlements will also be banned in the UK.

The target of these sanctions are the illegal settlements, not Israel, Miliband adds.

"I wholeheartedly oppose the boycott divestment sanctions, or BDS campaign," he adds.

Continuing to talk about settlements in the West Bank, Miliband turns to the UN's definition of ethnic cleansing.

He says the UK government "agrees" there is ethnic cleansing in areas of the West Bank - and says it's being carried out by "settler terrorists".

"All too often" the Israeli government has turned a "blind eye" to this, he tells MPs.

"For a long time" the British government has said such settlements are illegal, Miliband continues.

"Today I announce the official view of the British government is that the occupation is unlawful."

The UK will ban the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the illegally occupied West Bank, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announces in the Commons.

We'll bring you more on this shortly.

Miliband says many have a "deep sense of shame about what has unfolded in Palestine".

He says there is a "deeply painful contrast" between the UK's "professed commitment" to a two-state solution, and the reality on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank.

The prime minister is right to say that the Labour government has not done enough in the face of what is happening on the ground, he says.

Today marks the beginning of a "new approach", he says, where the government "not only calls out injustice and suffering, but acts".

He makes clear that "our argument" is not with the people of Israel, but with the "conduct of its government", and says again that the UK seeks a two-state solution.

Miliband continues to reference a "rising" antisemitism including in the UK - citing the Heaton Park synagogue attack among others.

He says the everyday life of Jews is "deeply affected" and underlines children are having to go to school with security guards.

Antisemitism is a "scourge" and an "evil" he says, citing additional investment in community security measures.

Miliband says he is "proud" of his Jewishness and adds that his support for the state of Israel is not a "contradiction" in his support for Palestine.

Ed Miliband begins his speech by saying he is a "proud British Jew" and recalls "joyful" childhood memories of picking oranges as a child in his cousins' kibbutz.

The foreign secretary says his personal story, and those of thousands of British Jews, is one he says to those who question Israel's right to exist, adding: "You are wrong and we will call you out."

He said the attacks on 7 October make plain the grave threats that Israel faces, adding that the UK is sanctioning the Lebanese Hezbollah financing arm, Al-Qard al-Hassan.

Miliband adds that the UK is reimposing major economic sanctions on Iran, in line with the EU and US.

Image source, House of Commons

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has begun his statement in the Commons, during which the foreign secretary is expected to outline measures to restrict trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

We will bringing you live updates and you can watch live at the top of this page.

This move will go down well with large parts of the Labour Party membershippublished at 13:16 BST

13:16 BST

Jack Fenwick
Political correspondent

Image source, Downing Street

Andy Burnham's Labour Party has been clear that it wants to signal a change of approach on Israel.

It's one of the few issues on which the new prime minister, who took office in July, has been explicitly critical of his predecessor, Keir Starmer.

In the weeks before he entered Number 10, Burnham said "Labour's initial response to the treatment of Gaza caused huge hurt".

He said the party had "got it wrong" and that Starmer had been "too slow to call for a ceasefire".

Sir Keir's position did change - most notably when his government recognised Palestine as a state last September.

Some people within Labour see today's announcement as the logical next step. But last week the new Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband described his approach to Israel as a "comprehensive reset".

The move is likely to go down well with large parts of the Labour Party membership, who will descend on Liverpool for the party's annual conference later this month.

There's been nervousness within Labour about losing votes to the Green Party, who have been more vocal on the issue since Zack Polanski took over as leader.

Polanski wants to contest a by-election in Sir Keir's old constituency next month, where Labour and the Greens are likely to go head-to-head.

This morning the cabinet minister Pat McFadden denied that today's announcement was about winning back voters who might have gone to the Greens.

But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has accused Labour of "throwing British interests under the bus to win back Islamist and far left activist votes".

Image source, Getty Images

We're expecting to hear UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announce new sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank soon - you'll be able to watch live on this page.

While we wait, here's some reaction to the expected policy from other UK parties.

The Liberal Democrats' spokesperson for international development, Monica Harding, is pushing the government to go further. She says "strong rhetoric isn't enough".

The party previously called for a ban on "all UK trade and financial services linked to illegal Israeli settlements".

Speaking for Reform UK, Deputy Leader Richard Tice warns Miliband's move could "embolden antisemitic hate crimes in UK" - Labour MP Peter Prinsley made a similar point earlier - as well as damage the UK's international standing with the US and Israel.

"It is self destructive virtue signalling that will make us less safe," Tice writes on X.

Deputy leader of the Green Party, Mothin Ali, suggests the move is "too little, too late". Ali wants a two-way ban on arms trade as well as "comprehensive" sanctions.

For the Conservatives, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accuses the government of putting party politics "ahead of national security".

We heard from him earlier this morning, but now the Conservative MP adds on X: "Settlements should stop, but the way to do that is to work with European and US allies to change Israeli policy."