Miliband Says Britain Could Not Stay Silent as West Bank Settlements Threaten Two State Solution

Photo Credit: Reuter

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has defended Britain’s decision to take tougher action against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying the UK had to act before settlement expansion made a future Palestinian state impossible.

Speaking in Parliament, Miliband said Britain could no longer simply condemn settlement expansion while watching “facts on the ground” undermine the prospect of a two state solution. The government has now joined France, Canada and other countries in banning trade in goods from Israeli settlements and targeting companies involved in settlement construction and financing.

Miliband has particularly highlighted the controversial E1 settlement project, an area east of Jerusalem that Palestinians say is vital to the territorial continuity of a future state. Britain argues that continued development there could effectively divide the West Bank and make a negotiated two-state settlement increasingly difficult to achieve.

The Foreign Secretary has also accused extremist Israeli settlers of carrying out what he described as “ethnic cleansing” against Palestinians in parts of the West Bank. He stressed that Britain’s measures are directed at settlement activity and the Israeli government’s policies, rather than at Israeli citizens generally.

The policy represents a significant shift in Britain’s approach. The government had previously faced criticism for issuing strong statements against settlement expansion without imposing wider economic consequences. Miliband had warned in Parliament that the pace of settlement growth was creating permanent changes that could destroy the possibility of a Palestinian state.

The measures have already triggered a diplomatic backlash from Israel. Israel has announced plans to close the British consulate in East Jerusalem and impose entry restrictions on a number of British officials and politicians, accusing London of interfering in its internal affairs.

Despite the diplomatic fallout, the economic impact of the trade ban is expected to be limited because goods produced in West Bank settlements represent only a small proportion of Israel’s overall exports. The wider significance is therefore political: Britain and its allies are attempting to put a cost on settlement expansion while signalling stronger international opposition to policies they believe threaten Palestinian statehood.

For Miliband, the argument is ultimately about timing. Britain’s position is that continued warnings are no longer enough and that action is necessary now, before settlement expansion changes the map of the West Bank beyond the point where a viable two state solution can realistically be achieved.