UK Escalates Response to Israeli E1 Settlement Plans

Israel has opened tenders for 1,234 housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank, east of Jerusalem. The project is part of a wider plan approved by the Israeli government for 3,401 homes and would expand the settlement corridor between East Jerusalem and Maale Adumim. Critics say construction in E1 would effectively divide the West Bank, isolate East Jerusalem and severely damage prospects for a viable, contiguous Palestinian state. The tender covers approximately 12 sq km and was issued despite an ongoing court challenge by Bedouin Palestinians living in the area and Israeli peace organizations. The bidding deadline is 19 October, shortly before Israel’s 27 October general election. Peace Now says the timing could make it more difficult for a future government to cancel the project once contracts have been signed. Israel has established around 160 settlements housing about 700,000 Jewish residents in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since capturing the territory from Jordan in 1967. Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law. Settlement expansion has accelerated since Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in 2022 with a right-wing coalition, alongside the Gaza war that followed Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack. UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband condemned the tender as “unacceptable and destructive,” summoned Israel’s chargé d’affaires and called for the plans to be halted. He said the UK would consider measures including sanctions against people involved in settlement expansion. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the UN was “deeply alarmed” and urged Israel to take no further steps. Israeli and Palestinian opponents of the project warn that it could displace more than 40 Bedouin communities and undermine the possibility of a two-state peace agreement.

The article reports that British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has announced plans for targeted sanctions against Israelis involved in what Britain describes as illegal settlement expansion in Gaza and the West Bank. The announcement marks a tougher stance by Britain’s Labour government toward Israel and comes amid growing European criticism of Israeli policies. Miliband’s statement followed an Israeli government tender for the construction of 1,200 settlement homes in the E1 area of the West Bank. He warned that development in the strategically important area could divide the West Bank from East Jerusalem, threatening the viability of a future Palestinian state and the broader two-state solution. Miliband called the plans “unacceptable and destructive” and urged Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to halt them and withdraw the tender. To reinforce the demand, Miliband said Britain had summoned Israel’s chargé d’affaires in London, Daniela Grudsky Ekstein, to the Foreign Office. He also said the British government would announce a “comprehensive set of measures” responding to Israeli government policies in the coming weeks, indicating that the planned sanctions could form part of a wider diplomatic response. The shift reflects the approach of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government. Labour had already faced criticism over its earlier position on Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, with Burnham apologising for the party’s handling of the issue under former prime minister Keir Starmer. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting later said Israel had fallen short of international standards in Gaza and the West Bank. The article also notes that other European governments have adopted a more critical position, citing German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s condemnation of remarks by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling for nightly assassinations in Gaza.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has condemned Israel’s decision to open a tender for approximately 1,200 homes in the West Bank’s E1 area and summoned Israel’s chargé d’affaires in London. The UK says the project threatens the viability of a future Palestinian state and could sever the territorial connection between the West Bank and East Jerusalem, undermining the two-state solution. Miliband said he had conveyed the UK’s objections to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and demanded that the Israeli government immediately halt the E1 plans, withdraw the tender and stop settlement expansion. He described the tender as an “unacceptable and destructive act” and said Britain was preparing a comprehensive response that could include measures against Israeli policies, sanctions targeting those involved in illegal settlement expansion and support for a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace. Israel has approved more than 3,400 housing units for E1, a tract of land east of Jerusalem whose development has been considered for more than 20 years but was previously frozen amid US pressure. The tender deadline falls before Israel’s general election in October. The UK maintains that Israeli settlements violate international law and that settlement expansion, along with settler violence, is creating irreversible divisions and worsening conditions for Palestinian communities. Because Israel currently has no ambassador in Britain, its chargé d’affaires, Daniela Grudsky Ekstein, was summoned and informed of the UK’s “profound objection” to the Netanyahu government’s decision. The article also notes that Britain joined Denmark, Greece, France and Latvia in June to warn businesses against seeking contracts linked to E1. Separately, the UK’s new Middle East Minister, Stephen Doughty, visited aid centres in Al Arish near Egypt’s border with Gaza. He called current aid flows into Gaza “simply too low” and urged Israel to allow more humanitarian assistance through the Rafah crossing.