See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 12:20 BST, 20 August 2026 | Updated: 12:20 BST, 20 August 2026
Ed Miliband has lashed out at Israel for pushing ahead with plans for a controversial settlement project in the West Bank.The Foreign Secretary branded it an 'unacceptable and destructive act' for the Israeli government to publish a tender for the E1 settlement project.He added it risks endangering a two-state solution by separating the West Bank - widely considered to be occupied territory - from East Jerusalem.Settlement development in E1, a tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades.This is despite Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank being widely considered as illegal among the international community and an obstacle to peace.Mr Miliband pledged to set out measures in response to Israeli policies in the coming weeks. The Foreign Office also summoned Israel's charge d'affaires to set out the UK's 'profound objection to this move'. But Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar rejected the Foreign Secretary's remarks and their 'patronising tone'. Ed Miliband has lashed out at Israel for pushing ahead with plans for a controversial settlement project in the West Bank The separation wall next to the Palestinia neighborhood of Al-Eizariya, near where the Israeli government says housing units will be built as part of the E1 settlement developmentMr Miliband said in a statement: 'This Israeli Government's publication of a tender for the E1 settlement project is an unacceptable and destructive act.'E1 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.'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. All settlements damage that prospect and are a flagrant breach of international law.'Mr Miliband said he had 'made clear' to Mr 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,' he added.'Settlement expansion and attempts to create irreversible divisions on the ground threaten peace, security and the prospects for a viable Palestinian state.'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.'But Mr Sa'ar accused the Foreign Secretary of being 'entirely one-sided' and said he rejected his statement and 'the patronising tone of his words'.In comments posted on X, he wrote: 'It is absurd for Britain to lecture the Jewish people about where they may live in their historic tiny homeland, when the Jewish people's connection and right to this land is the most extensively documented of any people in human history.'There have been no new decisions regarding development in E1. The decision was made on 2025.'The tender process has been under way for several months, with certain tender documents published only in recent days.'He said the UK's policy of 'blaming only Israel while ignoring Palestinian extremism' has contributed to antisemitic hatred and attacks against the British Jewish community.Mr Sa'ar added: 'The UK Government's decision to damage the relationship between our countries is deeply unfortunate. But Israel will not be a passive victim of this policy. Israel will defend its rights, its interests and its people.'
