Miliband says there’s ‘increasing evidence’ of war crimes in Gaza as he announces West Bank sanctions – UK politics live
UK reasserts support for Palestinian rights and a two-state solution, describing Israeli settler terror attacks as perpetrating ethnic cleansing in West Bank • UK accuses Israeli ‘terrorists’ of ethnic cleansing in West Bank with government backing The Liberal Democrats say they have been granted a Commons urgent question today about t he latest Argentinian threats to the Falkland Islands . A Foreign Office minister will be responding at about 12.30pm. Isaac Herzog , the Israeli president, has said that Britain will be “on the wrong side of history” if it goes ahead with plans to ban trade with the illegal settlements on the West Bank. Later today, we expect to see headlines announcing certain British trade sanctions on Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria. If this happens – and other nations may join – I believe it will prove to be a grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history. Continue reading...
A Labour MP has warned that the proposed ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank could increase the risk to British Jews. In an interview with the Today programme, Peter Prinsley, vice chair of Labour Friends of Israel, said: My fear is that opponents of Israel won’t distinguish between Israeli government policy, Zionistic political philosophy, and British Jews. As far as they’re concerned, the whole thing’s the same, and I think it carries a real risk of increased chances of attacks on the British Jewish community.
Which is exactly what I said to Ed Miliband when I was asked to see him two or three nights ago. Prinsley also said he thought it was a mistake for the government to announce the ban now, only weeks before the election in Israel on 27 October. He explained: I think the timing is terrible. I think we need to wait for the result of the Israeli election, and then we need to have another think. We must do whatever we can to preserve the two-state solution