Burnham Defends UK Settlement Sanctions in UN Speech

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham defended his government's existing ban on trade in goods from Israeli settlements and related sanctions in a September 22 address to the UN General Assembly in New York. He said Britain condemns Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack and stands with Israel against threats from Iran, but argued that this does not justify Israeli government actions in Gaza or the West Bank. Burnham said Israeli tenders for construction in the E1 area, issued last month, threaten the prospects for a Palestinian state. He cast the British measures as support for a two-state solution.