In a Commons statement on 9 June 2026, the Foreign Secretary set out a UK position built around immediate de-escalation, wider regional deterrence and renewed pressure for a two-state outcome. The statement described the weekend's events - Hezbollah fire into northern Israel, Israeli strikes in southern Beirut and direct missile exchanges between Iran and Israel - as one of the most dangerous moments since the Lebanon ceasefire was agreed. According to the statement, the UK used the previous 48 hours to press for restraint, including a call with Iran's foreign minister on Sunday evening. Although both Israel and Iran had indicated that their strikes had ended, ministers said reports of further attacks that morning showed how unstable the position remained.
The government's line on Lebanon was two-sided but direct. It again condemned Hezbollah attacks on Israel's northern communities and described the group, acting at Iran's instigation, as dragging Lebanon into a war against the interests of the Lebanese people and state. At the same time, it said Israel's recent escalation in Lebanon had been reckless and disproportionate, worsening a humanitarian crisis that the statement said had already displaced more than one million people and killed thousands. The diplomatic objective is broader than ending a single exchange of fire. The Foreign Secretary said the UK wants a route that ends the Lebanon conflict, reopens the Strait of Hormuz, restores regional stability and prevents Iran from ever developing or obtaining a nuclear weapon. He also said the UK wants a swift conclusion to US-Iran talks and is discussing maritime security with China, India, France and other partners.
The statement also placed shipping and trade near the centre of the UK's regional response. Ministers said every country has an interest in freedom of navigation and confirmed that the UK, working with France and other countries, is prepared to support demining and a multilateral maritime mission to reassure commercial traffic once an agreement is reached. In practical terms, that links diplomacy in the Gulf to domestic economic pressure: the government explicitly tied a lasting settlement to the restoration of global trade and to easing cost-of-living strain at home. From there, the statement returned to Palestine. The Foreign Secretary noted that the UK recognised the State of Palestine nine months earlier at the UN General Assembly, presenting that decision as part of an attempt to protect the viability of a two-state solution. The government's assessment now is that this objective remains in serious danger.
On Gaza, the official position is that the ceasefire still exists on paper but is being repeatedly breached. The statement said that more than 900 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since October, that 1.9 million people remain displaced and dependent on aid, and that 90% of water and sanitation infrastructure has been destroyed and not rebuilt. It also said deliveries remain well below the 4,200 trucks a week envisaged in the existing 20 Point Plan. The Foreign Secretary argued that access restrictions are now a policy failure as much as a humanitarian one. He said Israel's registration law continues to constrain international NGOs, key crossings remain shut and aid agencies are unable to move food already held in warehouses, including stocks in Jordan and Egypt. The government's language was unusually stark: children were still going hungry, it said, while supplies rotted on shelves.
The first UK priority is therefore unconditional aid access. The statement said British funding made available last year exceeded £80 million in humanitarian and early recovery support, helping 650,000 people receive food and improving water, sanitation and hygiene access for 300,000 more. It also said UK-funded mine-clearance work had made 45 acres safe for community use and cleared 24 key sites, including medical facilities, with a further £1 million now being committed. The practical message to Israel was explicit. Ministers said humanitarian support cannot be traded against other parts of the peace process and that the Netanyahu government must open crossings and remove what the statement called arbitrary restrictions so that the UN, UNRWA and international NGOs can operate. For aid agencies, this amounts to continued political backing from London, but with an acknowledgement that funding alone is not enough if access remains blocked.
The second and third UK priorities concern who controls Gaza after the fighting. The government said Hamas decommissioning has not started, that the group still retains tight control in parts of the territory and that the phased withdrawal of Israeli troops has not materialised, leaving Gazans confined to about 40% of the Strip and unable to reach land beyond the yellow line. British technical expertise has been offered to support the destruction of Hamas weapons infrastructure, while ministers also said Israel must deliver the withdrawal commitments already made. Alongside that, the statement pressed for proper operating space for the transitional Palestinian National Committee. According to the Foreign Secretary, too many obstacles remain in its path and it is still not functioning inside Gaza itself, which in the government's view makes it easier for Hamas to preserve control. The UK says it is offering practical support and will lead international calls, in co-ordination with the Palestinian Authority, to strengthen this arrangement because Palestinian governance must rest with Palestinian institutions.
The West Bank section of the statement was among the most forceful. The Foreign Secretary said recent events had further undermined the prospect of a viable Palestinian state, citing the killing of seven-month-old Sam Abu Haikal after the IDF opened fire on a family car in South Hebron and backing calls for an immediate, transparent investigation and robust accountability. He also noted a separate shooting in Israel over the weekend, in which one person was killed and five injured, and said Hamas had applauded that attack. Ministers then set out a wider pattern of settler violence. The statement recorded 950 violent incidents this year, described Palestinian families being driven from their land and homes, and referred to an April attack on a school in which settlers shot dead two Palestinians, one of them a 14-year-old boy. The government said many Israelis are themselves appalled by these acts, but argued that condemnation by the Netanyahu government lacks credibility where accountability is weak and hardline settler objectives are increasingly bound up with cabinet policy.
The policy response is a fresh sanctions package. The Foreign Secretary announced measures against organisations said to be supporting settler violence, including the Farms Association, described as fundraising for illegal outposts; Ahavat Gilad, described as its financial conduit; and Artzenu, which the statement said had raised money for military equipment for armed settler squads. Ministers said this is the fourth sanctions package imposed by the Labour government against extremist Israeli settlers and those facilitating or inciting attacks, and argued that the UK is now second to none among international partners in this area. That was paired with a sharper compliance message for British organisations. Following the Prime Minister's warning on 22 May that businesses should not bid for construction tenders in E1 or other settlement developments, the government said it has strengthened Business Risk Guidance to state plainly that British citizens and firms should not conduct economic or financial activity in illegal Israeli settlements. The Foreign Secretary and Culture Secretary have also asked the Charity Commission for England and Wales to investigate evidence that UK charities may have links to illegal settlements. For companies, donors and trustees, the direction of policy is now clearer: settlement-linked activity faces greater legal, reputational and regulatory scrutiny.
The closing part of the statement dealt with Palestinian governance and the Palestinian Authority's finances. The UK said it is still pressing the PA on reform commitments covering education, welfare payments and elections, while expanding hands-on assistance through Lord Michael Barber in his role as UK envoy for PA governance. At the same time, ministers argued that reform will fail without fiscal stability, saying the Israeli government is withholding $5 billion in Palestinian tax revenue and, by doing so, is worsening a crisis that leaves schools and health facilities open for only one or two days a week. Against that backdrop, the Foreign Secretary announced at least £10 million in further UK support during 2026 to help the PA pay salaries and maintain frontline health services. The statement said earlier UK funding had already helped 5,300 health workers sustain essential provision. The stated aim is to build more effective, democratic and accountable Palestinian governance across the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, while using the Paris Peace Building Conference later this week to revive the diplomatic push for a two-state settlement. Taken as a whole, the 9 June package combines sanctions, aid, maritime security and governance support into a single policy line: reduce immediate regional risk, constrain settlement expansion and keep alive the institutions needed for a future Palestinian state.