LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Britain had to “stand for something”, Prime Minister Andy Burnham told parliament on Wednesday in a defence of his government’s decision to block imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Burnham, who has been in the job since July, said Britain had long endorsed the two-state solution in the Middle East, but words needed to be backed by action.
“Leadership is about taking action where there is injustice, where we need to correct unfairness, people being driven out of their homes,” he said.
“In this difficult and dangerous world, Britain has to stand for something.”
The import ban, announced on Tuesday by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband alongside measures targeting settlement-linked companies and individuals, marked one of Britain’s most significant policy shifts toward Israel in years. It came as part of a coordinated push with France and Canada to pressure Israel over settlement expansion that the countries say threatens the two-state solution.
Israel reacted angrily to the sanctions. It ordered the closure of Britain’s consulate in East Jerusalem and barred 12 Britons from entering Israel in retaliation.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he had thanked Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the British opposition Conservative Party, for her criticism of the move.
Badenoch wrote in the Sun newspaper that the Labour government was “putting its own party-political interests ahead of our national interest”.
But she steered clear of the issue when she had the opportunity to question Burnham on Wednesday and instead chose to focus on defence spending.
Burnham, however, was keen to highlight action on an issue that had long been demanded by many of his lawmakers.
“We will always stand with the underdog and take what action we can to support them,” he said.
“That is leadership on the world stage, Britain being true to what it has always been about,” he said to cheers from his lawmakers.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
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