Picture caption: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
The full statement today 8 Sept 2026 of the Foreign Ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom on the two-state Solution
8 Sept 2026
- The Government of Israel’s actions in the West Bank are undermining the possibility of a two-state solution. The situation is rapidly deteriorating amid unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion, including the unacceptable decision to publish tenders for the E1 settlement project. The United Kingdom Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, have agreed on the need to take action to prevent further damage.
- Today, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK confirm their intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law, or that they are actively considering these and other measures, in accordance with their national procedures. In this regard, the UK, France and Canada welcome the important action already taken by Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium and will bring forward national measures to ban trade in settlement goods.
- Together, we are resolute: the two-state solution must be protected, and we will take action in pursuit of a just and lasting peace, based on the principles enshrined in the New York Declaration adopted one year ago. We firmly oppose actions tantamount to the annexation of Palestinian land and forcible displacement of the Palestinian population.
- The Government of Israel must immediately halt the expansion of settlements and civilian administrative powers, ensure accountability for settler violence, and investigate allegations against Israeli forces.
- We recognize Israel’s legitimate security interests and reiterate our condemnation of the Hamas 7 October terrorist attack, the worst antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust. We are clear in our determination to tackle antisemitism wherever it occurs. We are unequivocally committed to the two-state solution, in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions, that enables Israel and a sovereign, democratic and viable Palestinian state to live side by side in peace, security and mutual recognition within secure and internationally recognised borders.
Miliband on Palestine: the BPP view
TIM LIVESEY, Britain Palestine Project Chair, writes:
Ed Miliband has done what successive Foreign Secretaries have failed to do – match actions to words. He has accepted the International Court of Justice’s opinion that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is illegal; and that the United Kingdom must now accept the consequential responsibility to do everything in its power to bring that occupation to an end.
The UK has long accepted that Israel’s settlement programme is illegal. The Foreign Secretary is calling time on those who tangibly support, or seek to profit from, trade with illegal settlements. He went further and named the actions and intentions of violent settlers on the West Bank, supported by elements within the Israeli Government, as ethnic cleansing.
He reasserted the UKs wholehearted support for the international institutions tasked with determining whether war crimes have been committed in Gaza. Taken together today’s announcements mark a decisive break with the policy of successive UK governments. This is a welcome beginning, not an end. Other nations should now follow Miliband’s lead and adopt similar measures of their own.