UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband pushed for a more progressive foreign policy on Israel in a speech at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, according to the party's website.
"The only route to peace is two states, a secure Israel and a secure Palestine, with freedom, dignity and self-determination for both peoples," said Miliband. "We all know how far away we are from that."
He added that the October 7 Hamas attacks "cannot justify the suffering the Netanyahu government has inflicted in Gaza and the West Bank."
He told pro-Palestinian campaigners and Labour members at the event that the party's actions on the issue have been insufficient, and that UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham's government will take stronger measures to address it.
“I want to say to the millions of people in this country, and indeed elsewhere, who have been moved and outraged by the plight of the Palestinian people, we hear you, you were right," he said. "Under Andy’s leadership, we have reset our approach."
Miliband said he will begin efforts to "change" the status quo, citing a "wider lesson for our party from Israel and Palestine about how we have changed our approach."
He further cited Labour's "progressive values" as the reason for what he will claim to be the party's coming success.
“The bonds of solidarity between the British people and those who yearn for peace in Israel and Palestine are too strong to be broken," he said. "Our decision to act mobilized the international community, country after country."
Burnham to UNGA: Israeli E1 West Bank settlements 'unlawful'
The secretary's comments followed Burnham's speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, where the UK prime minister pushed against Israeli construction plans for settlements in the E1 area of the West Bank.
He cited his country's recent West Bank sanctions, claiming that they exemplify his government's efforts against further Israeli settlement of the area.
"We have acted by banning trade in goods with illegal settlements, recognizing that the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory is unlawful, and sanctioning those taking part in the construction of illegal settlements," said Burnham. "We want to see the suffering and death finally come to an end."