Britain's foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, has criticised Israel's move this week to launch a construction tender for the E1 settlement project in the occupied West Bank as an "unacceptable and destructive act".
Miliband indicated that he made it clear to the Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar that the "Israeli Government must halt E1 plans immediately, retract the tender and stop all settlement expansion".
"The impact of settler violence and terrorism has been catastrophic for Palestinian communities. Settlement expansion and attempts to create irreversible divisions on the ground threaten peace, security and the prospects for a viable Palestinian state," he said.
Miliband expressed that the UK will not "stand back and accept the destruction" of the two-state solution, adding that the country is "will set out a comprehensive set of measures" in the coming weeks, including sanctions targeting those involved in illegal settlement expansion.
UK Minister of State for the Middle East Stephen Doughty has also joined Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband in condemning Israel, describing the move as a "deliberate and destructive act designed to undermine a two-state solution".
