Fifty-nine years after Israel established its first illegal settlement in the occupied Palestinian territory, the United Kingdom has imposed a ban on trade with Israeli settlements. It is not before time, as the settler population numbers more than 750,000 residing in more than 140 formal settlements and more than 390 outposts and farms. The ban comes as British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has promised a “comprehensive reset” in relations with Israel.
This term is loaded – one he repeated multiple times in a meeting with me this week. A reset implies a realignment of the whole relationship, a strong term to choose to define the trajectory. Is this a divorce, or a temporary separation?
Is it just rhetoric or something more substantive? The foreign secretary told me he is determined to lead on this policy and do what he can to deter not just Israel’s settlement frenzy but its unparalleled aggression on the Palestinian people. Historically, it has been a close relationship with frequent road bumps but no crashes; a few marital spats but no more.
In 1917, Britain authored the Balfour Declaration and presided over a disastrous mandate period in Palestine, leaving with war and ethnic cleansing in its wake. In recent decades, the UK and Israel have enjoyed cosy relations, intense trade, defence and security cooperation, only interrupted by British statements of concern – occasionally deep concern – over Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian population. March 2023 marked the high point of the British-Israeli relationship.
The two governments signed the 2030 Roadmap for Bilateral Relations, envisioning close collaboration in all sectors, especially tech and security. Then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cemented this with fulsome support for Israel following the October 7 Hamas atrocities. Sunak stated: “I am unequivocal.
We stand with Israel, not just today, not just tomorrow, but always.” The UK-Israel relationship started deteriorating when Labour took over in 2024, not least due to the imposition of a partial arms ban. But Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer was reluctant to hold Israel to account. Within the UK, he was largely viewed as a warm friend of Israel and was widely accused within his own party of having done little to nothing to stem the genocide, implementing only partial measures at the last moment.
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