OMM Redaksiyası
UK Foreign Minister Ed Miliband has condemned the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank as “a stain on the conscience of the world”, according to the source report.
Speaking at Labour’s annual conference on Monday, Miliband said the suffering caused by the Israeli government “cannot justify” the actions that followed. His remarks drew sustained applause from delegates.
He addressed people in Britain and elsewhere who had been moved by the plight of Palestinians, saying: “We hear you. You were right.”
UK announces tougher approach
Miliband said Labour had changed its policy under the leadership of Andy Burnham and would challenge abuses in Gaza and the West Bank.
“Under Andy’s leadership, we have reset our approach. We call out ethnic cleansing by the settler terrorists in the West Bank. We call out the evidence of war crimes in Gaza. We call out Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine, and we match word with action,” he said.
He also announced measures aimed at economic ties with Israeli settlements, saying the UK would go beyond verbal condemnation.
“We will ban the import of goods from illegal settlements. We will disrupt the supply lines for British finance, British construction, and British services for illegal settlements,” Miliband said.
Support for two-state solution
The speech represented one of the strongest criticisms of the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from Labour’s leadership at the conference.
“Our argument is not with the people of Israel, but with the actions of its government,” Miliband said.
He also warned against attempts to undermine the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, saying Labour would oppose actions threatening the two-state solution.
“When it comes to the attempt to destroy the two-state solution, this party, this movement, this government said we will not let you succeed,” he said.
