UK's Miliband decries 'unacceptable, destructive' E1 settlement expansion in West Bank
In response, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said he "rejected outright the statement of the UK Foreign Secretary and the patronizing tone of his words."
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband of the United Kingdom has expressed strong disapproval of Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, specifically targeting the E1 project east of Jerusalem. Miliband summoned Israel's chargé d'affaires to protest the tender and demanded that Israel halt the E1 plans, retract the tender, and cease settlement expansion.
The British government plans to announce a more extensive set of measures in the coming weeks. Miliband stated that Britain "will not stand back and accept the destruction of the Two-State Solution."
Meanwhile, Israel is proceeding with the marketing of 1,400 housing units in the E1 area, part of a broader plan for 3,412 homes in the region between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim. The Civil Administration's Higher Planning Committee approved the project in August 2025.
In response to Miliband's statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected the UK's criticism, dismissing it as a "patronizing tone." Saar wrote, "The Jewish people have the right to live throughout the Land of Israel, just as the British have the right to live in London and throughout the United Kingdom." He argued that Britain's historical colonial territories thousands of miles away make it absurd for Britain to lecture Israel about where it may build in its historic homeland, where the Jewish connection to the land is the most extensively documented in human history.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
