8 September 2026

SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP has said UK Government action against trade with illegal Israeli settlements is welcome, and must form part of a much stronger response to the Israeli Government's actions in the West Bank and Gaza.

The South Belfast and Mid Down MP said the scale of settlement expansion, violence and dispossession in the West Bank, alongside the continuing genocide in Gaza, demands sustained diplomatic and economic pressure from the UK Government.

Claire Hanna MP said:

"Action against trade with illegal settlements is welcome, inspired by campaigning in Ireland and a credit to those who have kept this issue at the front of the political conversation. We cannot condemn settlements as illegal under international law while allowing trading as normal.

"Settlement expansion and systemic violence in the West Bank are part of a deliberate strategy to destroy the possibility of any viable Palestinian state. The E1 plans are particularly dangerous, threatening to sever Palestinian communities and accelerate decades of dispossession. Recognition of Palestine matters, but there must be a viable state and a future to recognise.

"We also cannot separate this from the horror continuing to unfold as a result of the genocide in Gaza, where we have seen families wiped out, children killed and severely injured, communities torn apart and an entire population subjected to hunger, displacement and unimaginable trauma.

"If the Foreign Secretary is serious about a reset, it must extend right across the UK’s relationship with the Israeli Government. Britain must use its diplomatic and economic influence to put meaningful pressure on Netanyahu’s government, prevent UK complicity in these abuses and do everything in its power to secure humanitarian relief and an end to the violence.

"The SDLP has consistently stood for international law, Palestinian self-determination and the right of Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace and security. We will always welcome meaningful action, but we will also continue to press the UK Government to use every lever available to protect civilians, challenge illegal occupation and help create the conditions for a just and sustainable peace."