The new tender for construction in the E1 area has already led to discussions in Europe about measures against Israel, and now the British foreign secretary calls for an 'immediate reversal'; 'Britain will not accept the destruction of the two-state solution' “Unacceptable, destructive and endangering the two-state solution”: Britain’s new foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, sharply condemned Thursday morning the Housing Ministry’s tender for the construction of 1,234 housing units in the E1 area and summoned Israel’s chargé d’affaires in Britain, Christian Cantor, for a reprimand.The E1 project, considered one of the most politically sensitive because of its strategic location between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, “would cut across the heart of Palestine and risks separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem, which would endanger the viability of a two-state solution,” Miliband said in an official statement.“The UK has been clear privately and publicly in our opposition to E1 and our support for a two-state solution as the only way to ensure long-term security and peace for both Palestinians and Israelis," added the British minister, who took office exactly a month ago. "All settlements damage that prospect and are a flagrant breach of international law." GalleryArea EI and Maale Adumim(Photo: Ahmad Gharabali/ AFP)Miliband said he made clear to Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar that the government must “halt E1 plans immediately, retract the tender and stop all settlement expansion."“In addition, the Israeli Chargé d’Affaires has been summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, where we set out the UK’s profound objection to this move by the Netanyahu government and demanded an immediate reversal," the statement said. "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,” Milliband added.“Britain will not stand back and accept the destruction of the two-state solution. In the coming weeks we will set out a comprehensive set of measures to respond to Israeli government policies, protect the viability of the Palestinian state, target sanctions at those who participate in illegal settlement expansion and support a just and lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians,” the statement concluded.The new construction tender, for which the deadline for bids is October 19, about a week before the election, caused an uproar in Europe on Wednesday evening. A European diplomat said: “Israel explicitly promised its friends on the continent that there would be no progress on construction in E1. This therefore crosses a red line and is a very bad development.”According to the diplomat, European governments are now discussing whether to take measures against Israel even before the election. He assessed that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was behind the move and said, “He is doing this for political reasons.”The same diplomat also warned that, from the perspective of European countries, advancing construction in E1 is a development that could justify a significant shift in policy toward Israel. “This is very serious, especially when it involves an explicit promise that was given to various countries. It seems Netanyahu is doing everything he can to destroy Israel’s foreign relations and lose the last friends you have.”Ma’ale Adumim Mayor Guy Yifrach responded to the British foreign secretary’s statement, saying: “The lifeblood of any city is the ability to allow its sons and daughters to continue living in it, raise families there and build their future there. Ma’ale Adumim suffered for 13 years from an inconceivable construction freeze, among other things because of pressure stemming from the ignorance of some European leaders and a lack of real familiarity with the reality on the ground.”Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich presents the plan. Europe suspects 'political motives' before the elections(Photo: Menahem Kahana / AFP)“It is important to say clearly: E1 does not harm Palestinians’ freedom of movement. The opposite is true,” he argued. “As part of the strategic changes in the area, Israel will invest hundreds of millions of shekels in infrastructure and roads that will allow fast and continuous Palestinian movement from north to south.”Yifrach added: “I suggest that the British prime minister and the U.N. secretary-general devote a little more of their attention to the atrocities and signs of genocide taking place around the world today, and less to the ‘fake consequences’ being spread about the E1 project. The Israeli government is making sincere and courageous efforts to create a real and better fabric of life in the area for all the populations living there. Anyone who truly knows the area and is not driven by ulterior motives understands this well.“Ma’ale Adumim is a thriving Israeli city, and it will continue to grow, develop and connect to Jerusalem. After many years of a freeze, we make no apologies for our right to build the future of the city and the future of our children.”Last year, the government already approved a plan to build 3,401 housing units in the area, but the advancement of tenders to carry it out was delayed several times amid international opposition and diplomatic pressure. In May this year, 11 countries — Italy, Britain, France, Germany, Norway, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands — issued a joint statement calling on contractors not to participate in settlement construction tenders.The countries warned companies of possible legal and reputational consequences of taking part in settlement construction, including the risk of involvement in violations of international law.When the plan was advanced last year, Smotrich himself presented construction in E1 as a move intended to thwart the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state. “The idea of a Palestinian state has been erased,” he said at the time.The E1 area covers about 12 square kilometers between East Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim. Opponents of the plan argue that large-scale Israeli construction there could sever the northern West Bank from the south, isolate East Jerusalem and prevent the creation of Palestinian territorial contiguity between Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem.U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres also condemned the tender and expressed “deep concern.” Guterres warned that construction in the area would sever the connection between the northern and southern West Bank, and that “this would have grave consequences for the territorial integrity of the occupied Palestinian territory and would pose an existential threat to the two-state solution.”He called on Israel to refrain from further steps and to act in accordance with relevant U.N. resolutions and the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice.