Most of the country clearly believes that the Government’s newly announced actions to be taken to curb the illegal Israeli settlements are overdue… but very welcome nonetheless. It’s not universal, with the Board of Deputies of British Jews condemning the change, but liberal Jewish groups, such as Yachad, made the obvious but important point that “These new policies do not target Israel; they target the occupation. They draw a clear distinction between the legitimacy of the State of Israel and the settlement enterprise which is illegal under international law.”
As a Liberal Democrat, and as Vice Chair of the Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine, I am really pleased that the Government finally appears to be taking strong action in support of international law, bringing it broadly into line with Lib Dem policy that’s been in place since 2021. I’m proud that Liberal Democrats have led the way on taking a tough, principled stand that respects the rights and aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians, while expecting and demanding that both sides abide by their obligations under international law.
I’m saddened however that the media and the public have so little awareness of our position, despite the best efforts of our Parliamentarians in the Houses of Commons and the Lords. I regret to say that I believe our failure to take this message strongly out of parliament and to the people has contributed to us underperforming in opinion polls and elections over the last year and more.
Both for reasons of seizing the moment politically – doing what we can to advance a just peace – AND to boost our standing with the public, I think it’s crucial that we take the opportunity that our Autumn Conference provides, not only to debate Israel-Palestine but to further advance party policy.
The Lib Dem Friends of Palestine have submitted an emergency motion addressing the role of the settlements and settlers in the collapse of the two state solution and making life – obviously and deliberately – unbearable for Palestinians. The deadline for submissions was prior to the Government’s announcements, but I’m pleased nevertheless that we correctly anticipated most of what Miliband introduced. We welcome the Government’s actions but recognise that it will all come down to implementation and our motion sets out in some detail how Liberal Democrats should engage constructively in the process of designing and enforcing the rules. Our motion also goes further in a few places where it would be useful to do so, namely calling for the suspension of all military cooperation and the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement while Israel remains in defiance of international law with regards the illegal settlements. We also propose exploring a programme of progressively banning travel to the UK by Israeli settlers, beginning with the most extreme.
It’s important that we Lib Dems don’t seek to be different just for the sake of being different and that our policy is designed to actually advance our aims: the end of the occupation of Palestine and a secure peace for both peoples. But we are a political party. We must demonstrate our relevance to the electorate on an issue so many care so much about – especially when our values align with the public’s. With everything that’s taken place so recently, we need to talk about Israel-Palestine but there’s no point having a conversation in which we simply pat ourselves on the back now that Labour has caught up with us. We must do more than simply reiterate existing party policy which now aligns – more or less – with that of the Government.
As the Lib Dem Friends of Palestine say clearly: the “announcement is an important step forward, but it should not be the final one. If Israel continues to expand the settlements and entrench its unlawful occupation, the UK must be prepared to take further measures to uphold international law and put meaningful pressure on the Israeli government to change course.”
I hope that party members will join us in calling for a serious debate on Israel-Palestine at our conference which will meaningfully advance party policy and our public reputation.
* Jonathan Brown is a member of the Chichester Liberal Democrats, is Vice Chair of the Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine and Chairs the Liberal Democrats for Free Syria.
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23 Comments
Amen
A trade ban on settlement goods is nothing more than minor symbolism. What we must demand is sanctions against any company that chooses to locate a branch in a settlement, any company that is involved in construction work in settlements, and any company (bank) that provides finance for construction work or buying property in a settlement.
There is an obvious difference between The State of Israel & The Settlers in principle but is there a real difference in practice ?
Israeli Courts, Police & Army collaborate with The Settlers , The Israeli Government is full of advocates for A Greater Israel. Where is The Israel that is somehow separate from The Imperial Project ?
As a South African I well remember sanctions in the 1980s. We never wanted for anything and became more self sufficient. I agree with the action but how will you differentiate between settlements and Israel proper. All they need to say is”Made in Israel”.
There is something particularly striking about the title of the book One Day Everyone Will Have Been Against This.
Israel sanctioned 12 British MPs — independent, Labour and Green — who were among the most vocal parliamentary voices speaking out against what was happening. History may well remember them not for being on the “wrong” side of a political debate, but for having had the courage to speak when doing so came with a price.
As the only British Palestinian Lib Dem county councillor I know of, I have experienced personally just how immense that price can be. Speaking openly about the genocide and settler terrorism has cost me enormously in my political career. But I made a conscious decision to accept those consequences.
Because if speaking out were easy, there would never have been an occupation, and there would never have been a genocide.
I am proud of the British public for continuing to push our political establishment on this issue. I do regret that, at local level, political parties have often shied away from putting this issue clearly on their election leaflets. Yet I am also proud that I have become locally known for being strong on it — not because of my heritage, but because of how loudly and consistently I consciously chose to speak.
There are moments in politics when we have to decide whether we want to be comfortable, or whether we want to be on the right side of history. I know which choice I made.
Good article Jonathan.
One shocking piece of arrogance on the part of the Israeli government should be challenged immediately i.e. the notice to close the consulate in East Jerusalem and to give notice to other UK staff to leave the capital Ramallah. International law clearly recognises East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank as part of illegally occupied Palestine. We recognise the State of Palestine. If they interfere with UK representation in another country’s territory that is surely grounds to take further steps diplomatically e.g. perhaps tell the Israeli embassy to reduce its London staff by 25% and/or for example close the Israeli consulate in Glasgow. There must surely be a response along these lines from the UK government.
Further to my introduction, I see it reported in the Guardian today that a number of other senior rabbis have declared in favour of the Government taking action on illegal Israeli settlements:
Jonathan Wittenberg, a senior rabbi of Masorti Judaism, said… “What is taking place today in the West Bank is a Chillul HaShem, a violation of God’s name of the worst order. We cannot stay silent. This is terrible for Palestinian people who want to get on with their lives in peace. It is terrible for Israel.”
Rabbi Alexandra Wright from the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in London… said “The sanctions are the UK’s commitment to a two-state solution… [and] called on the Jewish community to “not hold back any progression towards a two-state solution”.
Lev Taylor, rabbi of Kingston Liberal Synagogue… said “Some of my Israeli members have been campaigning for sanctions exactly like this … The Judaism in which I believe repudiates this brutal occupation… “The blame for the European countries’ announcement of sanctions falls squarely on the shoulders of [Benjamin] Netanyahu, [Bezalel] Smotrich, [Israel] Katz, and [Gideon] Sa’ar.”
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/09/senior-uk-rabbis-come-out-in-support-of-sanctions-on-israeli-settlements
Jonathan makes some good points about the welcome change of heart by the government – occasioned by a change of head, troubling evidence of how closely our parliamentary democracy resembles a monarchy – and it’s true that, as he says, Liberal Democrat MPs have been eloquent critics of successive governments’ failure to adequately remind Israel’s leaders of their duties under international law, and hold them to account over the excessive killing and destruction in Gaza.
But although Andy Burnham’s new regime is to be congratulated for drawing a line in the sand, a ban on importing settlement goods can be avoided by misleading labelling or re-routing them through Israeli companies, and exports from the West Bank will probably find new markets in places where there is no ban.
However, this move has huge symbolic value in Israel, where the reaction was immediate and furious. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said talk of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank was “an outrageous lie”, and claimed that Israel has “many friends in Britain”, going on to suggest that the “hostile Labour government” is out of step with the British people. If they believe that, they are wrong, as the link to a recent opinion poll in Jonathan’s article demonstrates.
What I find mysterious is that the new approach to Israel announced by Miliband has been so carefully aimed at the illegal settlers in the West Bank, and specifically not at Israelis in general. It seems that setting up home illegally in land invaded in 1967 is suddenly so wrong that action is needed, but killing 74,000 people and destroying the homes of two million in retaliation for the Hamas attack in 2023 merits only stern words, words which have been blatantly ignored. The suffering imposed by the IDF on the people in Gaza has diminished, but is ongoing, and deliberate. Political figures in Israel have made it clear that the intention for Gaza is that people will ‘voluntarily relocate somewhere else’, a euphemistic phrase which in plain English means the intention to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Miliband and others appear to have been caught in the trap laid by right-wing Israeli politicians which conflates critics of the genocidal policies carried out on behalf of Israel by the IDF with those who deny Israel’s right to existence. Many of us deplore Netanyahu’s government and question why so many Israelis are prepared to follow his lead, without calling for Israel’s annihilation, or siding with jihadists or other extremists. Criticising Israel is not antisemitism, and portraying it that way allows Israelis to ignore good advice implicit in the message from the British government: Israel needs to change course and start treating Palestinians as people with ordinary human rights that need to be respected.
@Jana – you’re right that banning trade in services is much more important than goods, although the Government is seeking to do some of this. The LDFP emergency motion goes into more detail about how this should be done – which is one reason I really hope it’s selected for debate.
@paul barker – a big part of the point of these actions is to create in practice a difference between the state of Israel and the settlements. You’re right, the Israeli government doesn’t draw a distinction, and has been allowed to get away with it for far too long.
@Tim Rogers – Enforcement matters (and there are signs the Government do understand this). If UK shops sell ‘made in Israel’ products that are proved to be from the illegal settlements, those shops can face huge fines. So will have an incentive to check there they’re buying from. Which puts the onus on Israel to either distinguish between settlement goods and legitimate ones or deliberately try to bust UK sanctions. So the UK Government needs to be willing to enforce the rules.
@jonathan brown “I regret to say that I believe our failure to take this message strongly out of parliament and to the people has contributed to us underperforming in opinion polls and elections over the last year and more.”
I couldn’t agree more and I do feel our Leader could do much more in this regard. I received a copy of an email to members this afternoon from Ed Davey entitled “The global fight for liberal values”. In a week where the main foreign affairs story is sanctions on illegal settlements and the horrors continuing to be inflicted on Palestinian civilians, he was full of criticism of Putin, Trump and Musk but no mention at all of Netanyahu who, along with Putin, stands indicted for war crimes.
Outstanding article. Lib Dems need to lead the way on reasoned arguements in support.
I’m afraid John Kelly is right. Our leadership seems to have a blind spot where the Israel/Palestine conflict is concerned.
Andy Daer 10th Sep ’26 – 7:55pm…………I’m afraid John Kelly is right. Our leadership seems to have a blind spot where the Israel/Palestine conflict is concerned…….
Not just OUR leadership; ALL party leadership until now..
This action is largely symbolic BUT from the reaction of Israel and those around the world, who refuse to believe the evidence of their own eyes, to the statement from Miliband they realise, at long last, that the defence of equating antiZionism to antisemitism is no longer a bar to speaking out against injustice….
I see former Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert has come out in support of UK policy towards the settlers, agreeing that what the settlers are doing to Palestinians is “ethnic cleansing”
https://x.com/yachaduk/status/2098325732128620713?s=46&t=xByHe97J1e8_vbsqFpXBYA
@Sam Ammar – “Speaking openly about the genocide and settler terrorism has cost me enormously in my political career.” I’m so sorry for the personal abuse you have suffered and the awful way you’ve been treated politically over your sincere efforts to represent not just Palestinians but the decent principles we fight for. Thank you for all your resilience. It shouldn’t be needed or expected, but thank you.
I am proud to be a member of Yachad’s board and to fully endorse its statement.
https://yachad.org.uk/ukbansettlementrade/
As Jonathan notes, this organisation gives an important voice to British Jews who disagree with the communal institutions’ positions.
The announcement this week was belated, but very welcome. On 20 July 2024, following the ICJ Advisory Opinion, I wrote this on LDV (https://www.libdemvoice.org/the-icj-advisory-opinion-on-the-illegality-of-israelscontinued-presence-in-the-occupied-palestinian-territories-75683.html):
‘Notably, the court ordered settlement activities to cease ‘immediately’ whereas the occupation as a whole must be brought to an end ‘as rapidly as possible’. Hence, to pick an obvious example, a ban on settlement products, a policy which this party [the Liberal Democrats] adopted at its Autumn 2021 conference, is arguably now an international legal requirement.’
As for the distinction between ‘green line Israel’ (Miliband’s term) and the occupied territories, as with rules of origin generally it is not always easy to draw it, but that is not a reason to try – nor is it unprecedented to treat occupied areas differently than the occupying power’s sovereign territory (e.g. the position re the TRNC and Crimea).
Thank you @Ruvi – please keep up the great work! You and others at Yachad are an inspiration!
Ruvi, you know I respect Yachad and what it stands for, but the statement you’ve linked to is misleading in the way it describes activity in the West Bank as the obstacle to the creation of a Palestinian state. The obstacle to peace and the establishment of a Palestinian state is no longer the settler expansion, bad though that is. It’s the fact that Israel has got away with obliterating Gaza and many of its people, in full view of a complaisant (and in some cases, complicit) world, without any real penalty being imposed. That is what has fuelled the switch in language from “yes we do sort of accept that maybe there will be a Palestinian state, one day” to “Judea and Samaria have always belonged to the Jews, international law is irrelevant because God gave it to us, and we’re going to take it back.”
UK and other politicians are picking on the settlers because they are scared to tell the truth about Israel.
@Andy Daer – there is certainly a LOT I haven’t addressed in my article, and am not going to address here, if only for lack of time and space. But a few points…
– While action against the settlements by no means addresses every issue or every crime, it is nevertheless a nettle that needed grasping, has finally been grasped and – if enforced – could make a meaningful and positive impact.
– While the state of Israel is hugely complicit in the settlement project, making the distinction clear between the illegal settlements and the legitimate state of Israel (the existence of which is itself distinct from illegitimate crimes that it carries out) is of fundamental importance to reaching a decent resolution. Is it sufficient? No. But it is a requirement.
– If the international community can make that distinction meaningful then it will help those inside Israel who want to make it meaningful. And if Israeli society accepts that there will – and ought to be – a Palestinian state (something that seems a minority belief currently), that will reframe thinking about Israel’s treatment of the population it occupies and grotesquely mistreats – including in Gaza. It makes it much more likely that Israelis will question the point, as well as the legality, of what their state is doing to the Palestinians in Gaza. (And the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. And the occupied Syrian territories.)
Dr Ruvi ZIEGLER 11th Sep ’26 – 10:44am You ref…”These measures are a direct response to continuous shifts in policy in Israel over many years which have deepened and entrenched the occupation with the aim of making it permanent.”
There has been NO shift in Israel’s policy..
Since the founding of Zionism in the 19th Century its goals have remained the same; the establishment of a Zionist state in accordance with the boundaries set out in Genesis 15:18–21.
Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, referenced those boundaries in his diaries and Ben Gurion, recognised as the ‘Father of Israel, stated in his 1937 letter that the land offered to Israelis was just the beginning and, as Israel ‘became stronger’, they could ‘Liberate (his word) the rest of the promised land and expel the Arabs..
Since 1948 Israel has continued towards this goal..
It follows the position of what I believe is a majority of UK population of supporting Israel but being against these unlawful settlements. Maybe not brave in that it’s very much following where many have gotten to, including Lib Dems, but it’s the correct step at this time. I’m amazed by the opposition to it as a policy.
@George – me too. I know that not everyone is happy about this, but it’s perfectly reasonable policy and I think all care is being taken to try to reassure those worried about communal tensions in the UK. I don’t understand the reluctance to champion our own policies of which I think we can be rightly proud.
Jonathan 11th Sept 10.19 ; you make the point that “all care is being taken to try to reassure those worried about communal tensions in the UK”. One way this manifests is the focus we are putting on the settler activity in the West Bank, while carefully avoiding blaming the Israelis for what the IDF is doing in Gaza.
One thing all of us know, and no-one seems willing to say, is that Israel committing what is very probably genocide is what is causing the world-wide increase in antisemitism. Of course it’s wrong to blame diaspora Jews for what Israel is doing, and it shouldn’t happen, but it does. Pretending that Israel can do what it likes to the Palestinians without there being any repercussions for Jews living outside Israel is not helpful to anyone. If Israel’s leaders started accepting the impact their behaviour is having around the world, it could be a force for good, but we let them get away with telling us the rise in antisemitism in the UK is our fault, not theirs.