Britain has summoned Israel’s chargé d’affaires and demanded that the Israeli government withdraw a tender for construction in the controversial E1 settlement area in the West Bank.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband on Wednesday described Israel’s publication of the tender as an “unacceptable and destructive act”, warning that construction in E1 could threaten the viability of a future Palestinian state.
Miliband said he had also spoken to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and called on the government to “halt E1 plans immediately, retract the tender and stop all settlement expansion”.
The E1 area lies east of Jerusalem, between the city and the Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. Israel this week opened bidding for the construction of 1,234 housing units across seven residential compounds in the area.
Palestinians and critics of the project argue that developing E1 would disrupt territorial continuity between the northern and southern parts of the West Bank and further separate East Jerusalem from surrounding Palestinian areas.
“E1 would cut across the heart of Palestine and risks separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem,” Miliband said, warning that it would endanger a two-state solution.
Israeli governments have backed development in the strategically located area for decades, but the plans have repeatedly drawn international criticism and faced delays.
The latest tender follows months of warnings from Britain over E1. In July, the UK government explicitly warned businesses against bidding for construction contracts in E1 or other Israeli settlements.
Britain considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law and has repeatedly called on Israel to halt their expansion.
Miliband’s decision to summon the Israeli chargé d’affaires marks a further diplomatic protest from London as tensions with Israel over settlement policy intensify.
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Britain has summoned Israel’s chargé d’affaires and demanded that the Israeli government withdraw a tender for construction in t...
The collective-defence agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signals that regional powers no longer want to rely solely on external security guarantees. Whether it becomes a stabilising deterrent or another axis of rivalry remains unresolved.
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Iran has said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils the terms of an interim deal, including lifting the maritime blockade and sanctions and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 19th of August, covering the latest developments.
A Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has killed at least five people and injured more than two dozen others, Ukrainian officials said, with fires reported across the city and Poland activating defensive air operations.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
The death toll from last week’s powerful earthquake in Colombia has risen to at least 314, while 262 people remain missing, President Abelardo De La Espriella said on Wednesday.
The grandmother of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab has rejected an Israeli military investigation into her killing, saying the family does not trust the Israeli judiciary and calling instead for an independent international probe.
Lebanon has handed over former Syrian Major General Adel Issa to authorities in Damascus, where he faces charges including premeditated murder and torture resulting in death, Syria’s Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
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