Britain is preparing a “comprehensive” package of measures over Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and is examining possible restrictions on trade and British corporate involvement in settlements, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Tuesday.
His comments drew a warning from Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who said Jerusalem would retaliate if London moves against Israel. “If Britain acts against the State of Israel, the State of Israel will act against Britain,” Sa’ar told ynet.
Gallery
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband
(Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images, AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Miliband, appearing before lawmakers for his first Foreign Office questions session since becoming foreign secretary in July, said he was “deeply worried about the pace of what is happening” in the West Bank and warned that new settlements were “seeking to destroy the prospect of a two-state solution.”
He specifically cited Israel’s E1 settlement project, saying construction there “risks making a Palestinian state unviable.” Miliband added: “This government will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution. We will act and I will set out a comprehensive set of measures in the coming weeks.”
The foreign secretary also signaled that a ban on trade in goods produced in settlements could be among the measures under consideration. “We are obviously working across government and with our allies on these measures, and if he is a little patient in the coming weeks, we will have more to say,” he told lawmakers.
Pressed further, Miliband said Britain was also examining its “wider economic relationship with the occupied territories” and added: “We do not want British companies financing, constructing or advertising new settlements. The work we are now undertaking is how we can stop that.”
The E1 area
(Photo: Shaul Golan)
The E1 area covers roughly 12 square kilometers east of Jerusalem and is considered particularly sensitive by Britain and the European Union because Israeli construction there could disrupt Palestinian territorial continuity between the Ramallah area and Bethlehem and Hebron, while further separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem.
Sa’ar accused the British government of pursuing a systematic policy against Israel, citing previous restrictions on defense exports and sanctions on Israeli ministers. “If they act, I think they will make a major mistake,” he said. “But if they act against us, we will act.”
Asked what form an Israeli response might take, Sa’ar declined to elaborate. “There are tools,” he said. “We are preparing. If they make a mistake, there will be a response.”
The prospect of British trade restrictions has also drawn attention in Washington. The Times reported Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is “closely” tracking any British plans to impose a trade ban involving goods from Israeli settlements.