Key facts
- UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband will attend an EU foreign ministers meeting in Ireland.
- Miliband vowed to "reset" UK policy toward Israel and prevent British companies from contributing to West Bank settlements.
- He specifically targeted the E1 settlement plan, calling it a "red line" that jeopardizes a two-state solution.
- Miliband indicated that the UK is considering various measures, potentially including trade bans, to curb settlement expansion.
- Israel's embassy warned of potential retaliatory actions if Britain takes measures against the state of Israel.
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has pledged to "reset" Britain's policy on Israel, stating he will work to prevent British companies from contributing to settlement construction in the West Bank. Speaking in the Commons, Miliband identified the E1 plan, which aims to build thousands of homes between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, as a "crossing of a red line" that risks making a Palestinian state unviable.
Miliband announced that the government would set out a comprehensive set of measures in the coming weeks to stop British involvement in such projects, emphasizing that the UK "will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution." He indicated that the UK is reviewing its broader economic relationship with the occupied territories and exploring tools to prevent British companies from financing, constructing, or advertising new settlements.
This stance follows pressure on ministers to impose tighter sanctions on Israel, particularly concerning the E1 plan. Last month, Israel invited bids for contracts to build 1,200 homes for the project. Miliband's comments were echoed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who called the E1 settlement a "big mistake." The UK joined a joint statement with 20 other countries and the EU condemning the E1 settlement for undermining the prospect of a two-state solution.
In response to a question from Labour MP James Naith about the inadequacy of current UK measures, Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty suggested that a trade ban on goods linked to illegal settlements could be part of the government's forthcoming measures. He reiterated condemnation of settler violence and illegal settlements, stating that the Prime Minister has made it clear that more needs to be done, including looking at further sanctions and banning trade in goods with illegal settlements.
The Israeli embassy in London referred to previous comments by Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who stated that "If Britain acts against the state of Israel, the state of Israel will act against Britain. We have the tools."