The British government is preparing new measures against Israeli expansion in the West Bank, while Jerusalem warns that it will respond if London proceeds with sanctions
Israel warned the United Kingdom that it could take retaliatory measures if the British Government follows through on its threat to impose new sanctions related to the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stated that Israel “will act” if London implements the announced measures and warned that the British Government could regret its decision. The warning came after British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband confirmed that London is preparing a package of measures against Israeli settlement policy.
The Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar
The dispute intensified after Israel moved forward with the expansion project of the E1 settlement in the West Bank. The British Government believes that the initiative threatens to territorially divide the West Bank and complicate the possibility of establishing a future Palestinian state.
On August 19, the British Government officially condemned the Israeli tender for the E1 project and summoned the Israeli chargé d'affaires in London. Miliband then stated that Israel must immediately halt its plans and announced that the United Kingdom would prepare “a comprehensive set of measures”.
The Israeli Government rejects these pressures and considers that international measures against the settlements constitute interference in its political and security decisions. Sa’ar's warning thus raises the level of diplomatic tension between Israel and one of its historical Western allies.
The potential British sanctions have not yet been fully detailed. London indicated that the measures would be announced in the coming weeks and could specifically target individuals and entities related to the expansion of the settlements.
The controversy is also unfolding in a context of growing deterioration of the situation in the West Bank, where clashes, settler violence, and new Israeli construction projects have been reported. The United Kingdom maintains that the expansion of the settlements threatens the possibility of reaching a two-state solution.
The UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband
Israel, for its part, has made it clear that it will not passively accept the new British measures. The warning of retaliation now introduces the possibility of a new diplomatic confrontation between Jerusalem and London, as the British Government prepares the sanctions package.
The next step will depend on the measures that the United Kingdom ultimately announces and the response that Israel adopts. For now, both parties maintain opposing positions, and the Israeli threat of retaliation adds pressure to a relationship that is experiencing one of its most tense moments in recent years.
