Ed Miliband has condemned Israel for an “unacceptable and destructive” settlement project in the West Bank.
This week, the Israeli government opened up tenders for the construction of a some 1,200 settlement homes on the so-called E1 area of the West Bank.
The project is an attempt by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to end any chance of a Palestinian state as it would effectively divide the West Bank in two and isolating East Jerusalem.
The plans for illegal settlements have been condemned internationally, with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband labelling them “unacceptable and destructive.”
READ NEXT: Israeli minister calls for the killing of ’30 to 40′ Palestinians per night
In a statement on Wednesday regarding the E1 settlement project, Miliband said that “Britain will not stand back and accept the destruction of the two-state solution.”
He said: “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.”
Miliband said he had told Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar that the government “must halt E1 plans immediately, retract the tender and stop all settlement expansion.”
He continued: “The impact of settler violence and terrorism has been catastrophic for Palestinian communities. Settlement expansion and attempts to create irreversible divisions on the ground threaten peace, security and the prospects for a viable Palestinian state.”
The Labour minister added that “in the coming weeks” the British government would “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.”
In response, Sa’ar said he rejected Miliband’s words “outright.”
He said it was “absurd for Britain to lecture the Jewish people about where they may live in their historic tiny homeland”.
“The UK government’s decision to damage the relationship between our countries is deeply unfortunate,” he said.