UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband on Monday called the suffering in Gaza and the West Bank a stain on the conscience of the world. He was speaking at the Labour Party’s annual conference.

Miliband told pro-Palestine supporters that they had been right all along. He said, in his words, “we hear you. You were right.” He added that the threats Israel faces cannot justify its actions.

He announced that Britain will ban imports from illegal Israeli settlements. He said the UK will also cut British finance, construction and services links with the settlements.

Miliband accused settler groups of what he called ethnic cleansing by settler terror. He said London will act against those involved in the violence.

He stressed that his argument is with the actions of the Israeli government, not with the people of Israel. The speech was delivered under Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s leadership.

The comments mark the strongest criticism of Israel yet by a British foreign secretary.