Miliband has decisively broken with decades of UK inaction on Palestine

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has made a significant shift in UK policy towards Palestine, breaking decades-long inaction and taking a bold stance. In a meeting with the British Foreign Secretary on September 7, 2025, Miliband declared that the UK was genuinely serious about taking action against Israel's violations of international law.

This marked a stark contrast to previous governments, which had hesitated, evaded, and used excuses to avoid taking a firm position. Miliband's declaration was the first time a British foreign secretary had used terms like "ethnic cleansing" to describe the situation in the Occupied West Bank. He also criticized Israeli actions in Gaza, describing them as a "stain on the conscience of the world."

Miliband backed international legal processes to determine whether Israel had violated international law and referred to the UN Commission of Inquiry report, which accused Israel of genocide. The UK government announced several concrete measures, including a ban on trade with settlement goods and a sanctions regime on financial services.

This policy shift aims to address the illegal activities of Israeli settlements and those who support them, with the implementation expected to take six to nine months.