The United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, urged Israel on Wednesday to halt its plan to establish the E1 settlements, an area located in the West Bank east of Jerusalem, and summoned the Israeli chargé d’affaires to reaffirm its stance after the government led by Benjamin Netanyahu initiated the tender for its construction.
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A project that threatens to divide the West Bank and bury the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has led to notable international opposition.
“The publication by the Israeli government of the tender for the E1 settlement project is an unacceptable and destructive act”, Miliband declared in a statement denouncing that their construction “would cut through the heart of Palestine and risks separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem, endangering the viability of a two-state solution.”
The British Foreign Secretary thus agreed with the assessment of the situation made by the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, who just hours earlier expressed being “deeply alarmed” by the progress of the Israeli colonial project.
Reiterating London’s opposition to these settlements “and its support for a two-state solution as the only way to ensure long-term security and peace for both Palestinians and Israelis,” Miliband asserted that “all settlements harm this prospect and constitute a blatant violation of International Law”.
Furthermore, the minister indicated that the British government had already conveyed its position to the Israeli government: first, he himself assured having “made clear” to his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, that the cabinet led by Benjamin Netanyahu “must immediately halt plans for E1, withdraw the tender, and stop all settlement expansion”.
Additionally, he warned that his department summoned the Israeli chargé d’affaires in the United Kingdom, to whom Downing Street’s “deep objection” to the colonial project was expressed: “We demand an immediate rectification,” says Miliband’s note.
Pointing out the “catastrophic” impact of “settler violence and terrorism” on Palestinian communities, the British Secretary of State emphasized that “he will not stand idly by as the two-state solution is destroyed.”
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“In the coming weeks, we will present a comprehensive set of measures to respond to the policies of the Israeli government, protect the viability of the Palestinian state, impose sanctions on those involved in the illegal expansion of settlements, and support a just and lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians,” he announced.
The government led by Andy Burnham thus continued the critical stance of the previous Labour cabinet, led by Keir Starmer, regarding the Israeli settlement plan in the West Bank approved exactly one year ago amid celebrations by senior Israeli government officials.
Among these officials was the Israeli Finance Minister, the ultra Bezalel Smotrich, who then highlighted that it “practically eliminates the illusion of two states” by dividing the territory intended for a Palestinian state.
This project has sparked criticism and protests with every advancement made since then and, in fact, about ten countries—including Spain, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany—urged in May 2026 companies in their territories not to participate in the tender process for E1 settlements in the West Bank.
Berlin, for its part, also expressed its position regarding the tender initiated this Wednesday in terms similar to those of London.
“There must be no further annexation measures in the West Bank, whether formal or political, structural or otherwise, which in practice increasingly amount to annexation,” stated the German government deputy spokesperson, Sebastian Hille.
“They are contrary to the two-state solution,” Hille said in statements reported by German media such as the newspapers Der Spiegel and Die Welt.
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