UK to Unveil 'Comprehensive' Measures Against Israeli West Bank Settlements

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced that Britain will unveil a comprehensive package of measures against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank in the coming weeks.

Miliband stated on Tuesday that his country would not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution. He told lawmakers that Israel's E1 settlement project risks making a Palestinian state unviable. Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Sa'ar, said Israel was prepared to retaliate against such measures. Prime Minister Andy Burnham had previously stated he was looking at measures to ban trade in goods with illegal settlements.

The U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is closely tracking any plans for a trade ban. The Labour Muslim Network (LMN) and International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) published a legal briefing urging the British government to act urgently and comprehensively in response to Israel's E1 settlement project. Ireland's defence minister called on EU member states to take more concrete action to ban trade with Israeli settlements and prevent their expansion.

British Jewish leaders have raised concerns with the UK government over potential plans to ban or restrict trade with Israeli settlements, stating sanctions could endanger British Jews. Israeli authorities established a new settlement named "Noa" in the Jenin governorate in the northern occupied West Bank on Monday.