Ed Miliband, the UK Foreign Secretary, told the House of Commons on Tuesday that Israeli settlement expansion was destroying the prospects for a Palestinian state alongside Israel. He urged action before it became too late.
Miliband spoke as he announced new measures against illegal settlement activity in the West Bank. He said the accelerating expansion put the two-state solution at significant risk.
Miliband noted that more settlements had been approved under the current Israeli government than in the previous 20 years. He pointed to the E1 project as a particular threat. That plan, he said, would cut across the heart of Palestine and risk separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem.
“Settlement expansion and attempts to create irreversible divisions on the ground threaten peace, security and the prospects for a viable Palestinian state,” Miliband stated.
He added that Britain would not stand back and accept the destruction of the two-state solution.
Miliband confirmed that the UK government now viewed Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territory as unlawful. This position aligned with a previous International Court of Justice advisory opinion.
He announced an import ban on goods from illegal settlements. Further measures would target individuals and companies that supported, facilitated or profited from settlement activity. Sanctions would also address settler violence.
Miliband stressed that the two-state solution remained the only route to security for both peoples. He said the only path forward was for Palestinians and Israelis to live side by side in peaceful coexistence with freedom, security and self-determination.
He told MPs that the UK and its allies could not remain passive in the face of this destruction. The measures, he explained, aimed to protect the viability of a Palestinian state and support a just and lasting peace.
