Words are not enough, campaigners warn after Miliband criticises Israel’s new illegal settlement plans
Israeli settlers put up Israeli flags on a Palestinian sturucture on the outskirts of the occupied West Bank city of Beit Sahour, August 14, 2026WORDS are not enough against all of Israel’s “atrocities,” campaigners warned today after Ed Miliband criticised Tel Aviv’s new illegal settlement plans.
The Foreign Secretary said Britain would not “stand back and accept the destruction of the two-state solution,” as he pledged to set out measures in response to Israeli policies in the coming weeks.
He said Britain had been clear publicly and privately about its opposition to the E1 settlement project, which he said risks endangering a two-state solution by separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem.
“I made clear to the Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar that the Israeli government must halt E1 plans immediately, retract the tender and stop all settlement expansion,” he said.
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The Foreign Office also summoned Israel’s charge d’affaires to set out Britain’s “profound objection” to the new settlement plans.
Mr Miliband said: “This Israeli government’s publication of a tender for the E1 settlement project is an unacceptable and destructive act.
“All settlements damage that prospect and are a flagrant breach of international law.”
He said the expansion of settlements and “attempts to create irreversible divisions” on the ground threaten peace and prospects for a Palestinian state.
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But Palestine Solidarity Campaign deputy director Ryvka Barnard said that while Mr Miliband is right to condemn the settlement project, his words “must be matched by decisive action against all of Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians.”
“That doesn’t just mean action against Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank, but also against its ongoing genocide in Gaza and the apartheid system it imposes across historic Palestine,” she told the Star.
“Unless truly comprehensive sanctions are imposed on Israel – including a full arms embargo and a ban on all trade that aids or assists Israel’s unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory – Andy Burnham’s government risks falling to the same fate as Keir Starmer’s: plummeting support and a disgraceful legacy.”
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Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar hit back at Mr Miliband’s comments and its “patronising tone,” writing on X: “There have been no new decisions regarding development in E1. The decision was made in 2025.
“The tender process has been underway for several months, with certain tender documents published only in recent days.”
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See the original article in full at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/words-are-not-enough-campaigners-warn-after-miliband-criticises-israels-new-illegal
