The UK government is expected to announce new restrictions on trade with Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband set to outline the measures in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
The announcement is expected to include restrictions on agricultural products from settlements. Labour MPs briefed on the plans believe the measures will cover both goods and services from illegal settlements.
Last week, Miliband said he would unveil a "comprehensive reset" of British government policy on Israel. Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed to Labour MPs at their weekly parliamentary meeting on Monday night that Miliband would make the statement, according to a number of MPs present.
One minister said: "The statement will be a complete reset of the nature of our Israel-Palestine relationship. It will all feel very different. It is not just about sanctions. We hope that this will finally achieve what those of us who have been working towards for two years over the Middle East have been working on."
The prime minister is also said to have told the meeting that he had briefed international leaders about the plans in phone calls on Monday afternoon. Burnham spoke to US President Donald Trump on Monday, during which he stressed the importance of a two-state solution. An official account of the call released by Downing Street did not specify that Burnham had briefed Trump on the sanctions. The US, which is likely to strongly oppose the proposals, has not commented.
Ministers are said to recognise that banning a relatively small quantity of mostly agricultural products is a largely symbolic gesture. However, the government is expected to frame the announcement as a major reset in Britain's wider policy on Israel.
The Israeli government has previously warned it would retaliate if new measures were introduced. Settlements are illegal under international law. Recent months have seen a rise in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
The expected announcement follows Israel's decision to open tenders for the construction of approximately 1,200 settlement homes in the E1 area, a strategically important zone east of Jerusalem. The plans have drawn widespread international condemnation. Israel had held off on building in the area for decades under global pressure.
Speaking in his first address to Parliament as foreign secretary last week, Miliband described those plans as "illegal under international law" and called them "the crossing of a red line, as it cuts through the heart of the West Bank and risks making a Palestinian state unviable." Burnham also warned that the E1 announcement could "imperil or end" the two-state solution.
Stephen Doughty, now serving as Middle East minister, told a parliamentary committee in July that existing powers to impose restrictions on settlements did not go far enough. He said: "At the moment, we can sanction where there is evidence of it being linked to settler violence, but not, for example, in relation to a contractor working on the settlements. We need to expand our sanctions powers."
Tuesday's expected statement comes almost a year after the previous government recognised a state of Palestine and said the UK had a moral responsibility to support a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians. The current government believes the prospect of a two-state solution is being jeopardised by the rapid expansion of settlements.
The two-state solution, which has received broad international backing over several decades, proposes an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital, existing alongside Israel. Israel rejects the two-state solution, arguing that any final settlement must result from direct negotiations and that statehood should not be a precondition. The Palestinian Authority supports the proposal, while Hamas does not, as it opposes the existence of Israel.
