UK's Miliband pushes for more pro-Palestinian foreign policies in Labour Party conference speech

The secretary's upcoming comments will follow Andy Burnham's speech to the UNGA on Wednesday, where he pushed against Israeli construction plans for E1 settlements in the West Bank.

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband will push for a more progressive foreign policy on Israel in an upcoming speech at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.

He is reportedly expected to tell 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," The Guardian expects him to say. "Under Andy’s leadership, we have reset our approach."

According to the report, Miliband will begin efforts to "change" the status quo, citing "fundamental and wider lessons from Israel and Palestine about how we have changed our approach as a party."

Miliband will further cite Labour's "progressive values" as the reason for what he will claim to be the party's coming success, according to The Guardian.

“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 will say, according to the report. "Our decision to act mobilized the international community, country after country."

Burnham to UNGA: Israeli E1 West Bank settlements 'unlawful'

The secretary's upcoming comments will follow 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."