In its gov.uk statement to the UN Security Council, the UK restated that a two-state solution remains, in its view, the only credible route to lasting peace and security: a safe and secure Israel alongside a sovereign and viable Palestinian state comprising Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The intervention was organised around three connected policy tests. The first was whether the current Gaza process can be carried through in full. The second was whether the worsening security position in the West Bank can be contained. The third was whether further settlement expansion can be stopped before it causes additional damage to the territorial basis of a future Palestinian state.
On Gaza, the UK welcomed the recent focus on implementing Security Council Resolution 2803 in full. It said progress now depends on all parties meeting defined commitments, including respect for the ceasefire, Hamas completing its decommissioning obligations, the phased withdrawal of the Israel Defence Forces under the 20-point plan and the Roadmap for Phase Two, and the transfer of governance and security control to the Palestinian Authority. That formulation places post-conflict administration at the centre of the diplomatic process. The statement also encouraged the Palestinian Authority to continue the reforms needed to take on that role, indicating that the UK still sees institutional preparation in Ramallah as a necessary condition for any longer-term governance arrangement in Gaza.
The gov.uk text also acknowledged the role of the United States, Qatar, Türkiye and Egypt in moving negotiations forward. It said the UK would continue working with partners to end both the conflict in Gaza and the threat posed by Hamas, keeping London aligned with the current multilateral track rather than presenting a separate diplomatic line. On humanitarian access, the language was firmer. The statement repeated Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband’s assessment that conditions in Gaza remain appalling, and said Israeli authorities must end what it described as unacceptable restrictions on aid and allow safe, sustained and unhindered humanitarian access across the territory. In policy terms, that places aid delivery alongside ceasefire compliance rather than treating it as a secondary issue.
The statement then turned to the West Bank, where the UK said violence has continued to escalate. It cited July figures showing thirteen Palestinians and two Israelis killed, and described recent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian villages and communities as deeply alarming, including cases reported alongside IDF personnel. According to the gov.uk statement, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recorded more than 1,300 settler-related incidents affecting over 250 Palestinian communities in its July reporting. It also cited around 900 Palestinians injured and more than 3,200 displaced this year, while at least three Israelis have been killed and 24 injured. The statement treated those figures as evidence of sustained patterns of violence rather than isolated local incidents.
The UK gave particular attention to the effect on children. It said repeated exposure to violence, displacement, movement restrictions and military operations is disrupting daily life and schooling across affected communities. As an example, the statement pointed to the 4 August demolition by Israeli forces of three donor-funded classrooms at Sha’ab al Butum School, only weeks before the start of the school year. By drawing attention to a donor-funded education site, the UK was also signalling concern about direct damage to civilian infrastructure supported by international partners.
London called on the Israeli government to meet its obligations to protect the Palestinian population in the occupied territory. It welcomed recent arrests and indictments by Israeli authorities against perpetrators of settler violence, but said those steps are not yet enough after a prolonged period in which offenders have, in the UK’s view, acted with impunity. Taken with the rest of the intervention, the statement indicates that the UK is looking for a move from occasional enforcement to more consistent prevention and prosecution. It also said Israeli security measures must be proportionate, consistent with international law and directed towards de-escalation, setting out the standard by which further action is likely to be assessed.
On settlements, the UK restated its long-standing position that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law. It said the Israeli government has approved 104 settlements over four years, representing an 80 per cent increase, and has allocated unprecedented funding to the construction of new settlements. The statement also condemned threats to expand settlements and outposts further and opposed the decision to reintroduce the E1 settlement plan, which it said would cut the West Bank in half. It added that recent mass incursions at Haram al Sharif / Temple Mount were a cause for alarm and said the status quo at Jerusalem’s holy sites must be respected. The closing point was direct: renewed efforts to implement Resolution 2803 will be harder to sustain if deterioration in the West Bank continues.