Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned Tuesday that Israel has “tools” with which it “will act against” the United Kingdom if London imposes sanctions on Jerusalem over its E1 settlement project, as a diplomatic spat over the plan ballooned.
The project calls for some 3,00 housing units on strategically key territory in the West Bank, which London sees as vital for a future Palestinian state. Israel’s issuing of tenders last month for the construction of 1,200 units drew condemnation and triggered promises of sanctions from the UK.
“If Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain,” Sa’ar said in a segment of a Hebrew-language podcast interview with Ynet, aired shortly after the British foreign secretary reiterated that London plans to unveil a “comprehensive” package of measures targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank in the coming weeks in response to the E1 project.
Asked how concerned he is about the prospect of sanctions, Sa’ar stressed that Israel will respond and charged that any British measures would be politically motivated.
“There is a government there that is systematically acting against Israel. It has already harmed defense exports to us and imposed sanctions on ministers. What guides it is its domestic politics, and at the end of the month the Labour Party conference is convening,” he said.
