Andy Burnham has said the suffering of the Palestinian people is a “scar on the conscience of the world” after his government announced sanctions against Israel.
On Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced sweeping sanctions on on goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
In a dramatic shift of policy from the UK, Miliband said ethnic cleansing was being carried out in parts of the West Bank and that war crimes “appear to have been committed” by Israel in Gaza.
Miliband emphasised that the government’s issue was not with the people of Israel but with the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
The UK was followed by France and Canada in banning trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, with nine other countries also saying they are considering similar measures.
Later on Tuesday, prime minister Andy Burnham shared a lengthy post on social media explaining why his government had taken action against Israel and settlements in the illegally occupied West Bank.
The Prime Minister said: “In a difficult and dangerous world, a decade on from Brexit, there is a risk that Britain loses the confidence to lead and stand up for its values. I’m not prepared to let that happen. It is more important than ever that Britain stands for something.
“We have called for years for a two-state solution in the Middle East, but we must recognise that those words are meaningless unless we back them up with action. For too long, we have been hesitant to act, fearful of being accused of being anti-Israel.
“Today we are announcing carefully judged, targeted steps that are not aimed at the Israeli people, but at the unacceptable policies of the current Israeli government.”
Addressing the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Burnham continued: “The suffering of the Palestinian people is a scar on the conscience of the world. Innocent Palestinians, including children, continue to be killed in Gaza. And there is still a humanitarian crisis, with far too little aid getting in.
“The scale of destruction is hard to comprehend. More than 70,000 people lie dead – at least 20,000 of them children. Families and communities have been torn apart. Millions displaced. And the population of Gaza is now penned into just one third of the territory.
“I know that people across the UK feel very deeply about this issue – and so do I.”
He went on to say that he will “not stand by as the horrific suffering continues to grow and the prospect of a two-state solution comes under attack.”
After highlighting the role Netanyahu’s government had played in encouraging illegal settlements in the West bank, Burnham then outlined the action he was taking against Israel.
He finished by reiterating that the Israeli people are “not responsible for the actions of their government” and that blaming British Jews for the actions of Netanyahu’s government is “antisemitism, plain and simple.”
“The measures we are announcing today are about protecting the only solution that could see the Israeli and Palestinian people living side by side in peace and security – something that people up and down the UK desperately want to see,” he concluded.
“The government I lead will keep working with our partners around the world to keep that hope alive.”