On 24 September 2026, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband used the High-Level Ministerial Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution at the United Nations to restate the government's position that a two-state settlement remains the only route to lasting security, freedom and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians. He paired condemnation of the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks with criticism of the suffering in Gaza and the West Bank, placing both within the same policy argument. (gov.uk) He also set out personal context, referring to his family history as the son of Jewish refugees and to Israel's protection of his grandmother after the Second World War. That framing mattered because it presented the later criticism of Israeli government policy as a security and rule-of-law case, not as a retreat from support for Israel's right to exist in safety. (gov.uk)
The central warning was that broad diplomatic support for a two-state solution is no longer enough on its own. Miliband said the policy is being eroded by developments on the ground and singled out the August 2026 E1 settlement tender as the latest example. (gov.uk) That reference is significant because the UK's UN mission has separately called on Israel to retract the E1 tenders, stating that the project would drive a wedge through the West Bank and isolate East Jerusalem. In practical terms, London is treating E1 not as a routine planning dispute but as a direct threat to the territorial basis of a future Palestinian state. (gov.uk)
From there, the speech moved from principle to economic measures. Miliband said the UK, alongside France and Canada and after earlier moves by Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Norway, had concluded that the occupation is illegal and had begun acting against illegal settlements through import restrictions and efforts to cut finance and construction support for settlement expansion. (gov.uk) That line aligns with the Foreign Secretary's Commons statement of 8 September 2026, in which the government said the occupation is unlawful, announced an import ban on goods from illegal settlements, and said specific companies and individuals involved in construction, infrastructure, finance or real estate for settlement expansion would face sanctions. The same statement drew a clear distinction between illegal settlements and trade with green line Israel, with legislation due within six to nine months. (gov.uk)
On governance, the speech retained the government's current sequence. The Palestinian Authority was described as the basis for a single legitimate Palestinian framework, while Hamas was ruled out of any future government in Gaza and ministers said it must decommission its weapons and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure. (gov.uk) Other UK statements this year show how ministers intend to give that approach administrative form. The government has pressed the Palestinian Authority on reform, expanded direct help for its institutions, and backed Palestinian-led early recovery in Gaza through UN-coordinated funding and international donor co-ordination. The policy aim is clear: post-war administration should move towards reformed Palestinian governance rather than militia control or indefinite emergency management. (gov.uk)
Miliband also tied the speech to the US-led 20-point plan for Gaza, which UK ministers have presented as the main multilateral route from ceasefire politics to longer-term governance. According to FCDO statements, the plan has been backed through a UN Security Council resolution, supported by Arab states, and linked to transitional arrangements that lead towards Palestinian Authority governance in Gaza. (gov.uk) For officials following the file, this matters because the plan is not limited to humanitarian relief. UK documents connect it to an International Stabilisation Force, increased aid flows, a phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, Palestinian-led security and governance arrangements, and the decommissioning of Hamas weapons. In other words, the speech was endorsing a developed policy framework, not simply restating support for talks. (gov.uk)
The closing part of the speech was more direct. Miliband said progress now depends on two things: clear public language about conditions on the ground and political pressure on the Israeli government. He linked that pressure to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, citing blocked medical supplies and children waiting for operations or treatment. (gov.uk) That matches the government's other recent interventions. In June and August 2026, UK statements called on Israel to open crossings, reduce aid restrictions, allow fuel and other essential supplies to enter predictably and at scale, and stop measures that obstruct NGOs and UN agencies. Ministers have also described the current restrictions on shelter, healthcare and humanitarian access as immoral and destructive. (gov.uk)
For UK importers, banks, insurers and construction firms, the speech points to a policy area that is moving from declaratory opposition to compliance risk. Settlement goods, finance and construction links are no longer treated as an abstract diplomatic issue; they are being drawn into trade restrictions, sanctions design and due-diligence expectations. (gov.uk) For diplomats and aid organisations, the benchmark over the next few months is straightforward. The government's position is that progress has to be visible in settlement restraint in the West Bank, reliable humanitarian access in Gaza, and a credible Palestinian-led governance track under the 20-point framework. Without movement on those fronts, the warning built into the speech is that the next UN meeting will be discussing a weaker, not stronger, basis for a two-state settlement. (gov.uk)