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UK's Miliband Defends West Bank Sanctions Despite Rabbi's Rebuke
(MENAFN) British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Wednesday that while he is a "proud British Jew," he stands firmly at odds with the UK's chief rabbi over criticism of government measures targeting illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Speaking to media, Miliband said Britain had to "call out" settlement expansion in the West Bank before it was "too late" to save the two-state solution. The prospect of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, he added, is "being destroyed by the facts on the ground."
In a separate interview with a news outlet, Miliband said the continued expansion of Israeli settlements amounts to "the oppression of the Palestinian people" and that the government is not "willing to stand by in the face of that."
The remarks came a day after Israel ordered the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem and imposed an entry ban on 11 British lawmakers, in response to Miliband's announcement of measures targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The UK's measures include a ban on imports from illegal Israeli settlements, sanctions on companies and individuals facilitating settlement expansion, and additional sanctions on extremist Israeli occupiers accused of supporting or inciting violence against Palestinians.
"I regret what the Israeli government has announced, but I'm proud of what we did yesterday, and it was the right thing to do," Miliband said.
He acknowledged that shutting the UK's consulate in East Jerusalem would be "damaging" to ties with the Palestinian Authority, but defended the decision: "We weighed up the costs and the benefits in advance of this. And we did something very important."
The measures have split opinion within Britain's Jewish community. Ephraim Mirvis, the UK's chief rabbi, branded the move a "dark day for British Jews."
In a statement posted on X, Mirvis claimed the measures amounted to "little more than a political flag bearing a mendacious anti-Israel rhetoric, and those who harbour a dangerous obsession with the Jewish state."
Several British Jewish organizations, however, took a different view, condemning occupier violence in the West Bank and welcoming the government's announcement.
Speaking to media, Miliband said Britain had to "call out" settlement expansion in the West Bank before it was "too late" to save the two-state solution. The prospect of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, he added, is "being destroyed by the facts on the ground."
In a separate interview with a news outlet, Miliband said the continued expansion of Israeli settlements amounts to "the oppression of the Palestinian people" and that the government is not "willing to stand by in the face of that."
The remarks came a day after Israel ordered the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem and imposed an entry ban on 11 British lawmakers, in response to Miliband's announcement of measures targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The UK's measures include a ban on imports from illegal Israeli settlements, sanctions on companies and individuals facilitating settlement expansion, and additional sanctions on extremist Israeli occupiers accused of supporting or inciting violence against Palestinians.
"I regret what the Israeli government has announced, but I'm proud of what we did yesterday, and it was the right thing to do," Miliband said.
He acknowledged that shutting the UK's consulate in East Jerusalem would be "damaging" to ties with the Palestinian Authority, but defended the decision: "We weighed up the costs and the benefits in advance of this. And we did something very important."
The measures have split opinion within Britain's Jewish community. Ephraim Mirvis, the UK's chief rabbi, branded the move a "dark day for British Jews."
In a statement posted on X, Mirvis claimed the measures amounted to "little more than a political flag bearing a mendacious anti-Israel rhetoric, and those who harbour a dangerous obsession with the Jewish state."
Several British Jewish organizations, however, took a different view, condemning occupier violence in the West Bank and welcoming the government's announcement.
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