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State sanctions
The UK government completed an abrupt turnaround in its Israel-Palestine position on Tuesday that amounts to a watershed.
Key to a cascade of shifting policies was that London now considers Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories to be unlawful.
Ed Miliband, who is Jewish, spoke of his own family history and of the consequences of international law with Prime Minister Andy Burnham beside him, noting that the pair had been in charge of foreign policy for about seven weeks.
"The British government has rightly said settlements are illegal but we have remained silent on the question of the legality of the occupation as a whole, which in 2024 the International Court of Justice concluded was unlawful," he said.
"Today, I announce that the official view of the British government is that the occupation is unlawful because of Israel's entrenchment of its control."
To Mr Miliband, the Israeli actions on the West Bank amount to ethnic cleansing by settlers and he also said the UK would support courts considering the "increasing evidence" that war crimes had been committed in Gaza. He added it was right that the International Court of Justice was considering the evidence that genocide had been committed.
Eleven other countries including France, Canada, Denmark and Poland formed into a coalition. They confirmed backing for restrictions on trade in goods with Israeli settlements.
"The government of Israel's actions in the West Bank are undermining the possibility of a two-state solution," the statement by the 12 foreign ministers said.
Before the announcements, I considered the UK role as a trailblazer at this juncture. It was clear the political impact of the UK’s decision to impose sanctions measures against illegal settlements in the West Bank was playing out even before the details of the package are known.
It is fair to say the Mr Miliband's role is both potent and personal. Personal because he is, as he told the House of Commons, a proud British Jew.
Israel lashed out at the Labour government as hostile. Its retaliation was swift and showed Israel seemed to expect a more constrained package.
Israel closed the British consulate in Jerusalem; removed of British representatives from the International Gaza Support Centre near Gaza; and terminated British training of Palestinian Authority forces.
Kensington class
Prince William's family can look forward to some new neighbours. A development of six residences just a stone’s throw from London’s Kensington Palace is now on the market.
One Palace Green, where prices start at £15 million ($20.3 million), overlooks the gardens of the palace, in an ultra-secure road that is home to several billionaires.
The 150-year-old, 1,785 square metre home, built in the arts and crafts style, is an immediate neighbour of the Israeli embassy. The ambassadors’ residences for France and Norway are a short distance up the road.
The building was completed in 1870 and began life as a single home for landscape painter and politician George Howard, later the 9th Earl of Carlisle, and his wife Rosalind.
The redevelopment of the building has taken five years due to its Grade II listed status. Motifs on the walls of the dining room feature a poem by the father of the arts and crafts movement, William Morris.
The National was given a tour of the development – five apartments and a coach house – to see how it has been brought back to life.
Exodus updated
Meanwhile, Chris Rokos, a hedge fund magnate, is quitting the UK, adding to the exodus of top tax payers.
The founder of Rokos Capital Management is moving his residency from the UK to Greece. His company, based in Savile Row, London, employs more than 370 people and has offices in Abu Dhabi, New York and Singapore.
The Oxford-educated trader, who attended a state primary school before winning a scholarship to Eton, has a net worth of about £3 billion and manages a fund worth more than £15 billion.
In 2025, Mr Rokos paid £330 million in tax, placing him near the top of The Sunday Times Tax List. He donated £190 million to the University of Cambridge this year to establish a school of government, saying he wanted to “give something back to Britain”.
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