Britain calls in Israeli ambassador after Netanyahu
government advances West Bank settlements, calling it a "flagrant
breach" of international law.
A day after British Foreign Secretary David Lammy requested the Israeli government to rescind its decision to award final clearance for the E1 scheme, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said on Thursday that it had summoned Tzipi Hotovely.
The occupied West Bank, which Palestinians want to be the center of a future state, will effectively be divided in two by the settlement project in the so-called E1 area close to Jerusalem.
The FCDO said: “If implemented, these settlement plans would be a flagrant breach ointernational law and would divide a future Palestinian state in two, critically undermining a two-state solution.”
A day after British Foreign Secretary David Lammy requested the Israeli government to rescind its decision to award final clearance for the E1 scheme, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said on Thursday that it had summoned Tzipi Hotovely.
The occupied West Bank, which Palestinians want to be the center of a future state, will effectively be divided in two by the settlement project in the so-called E1 area close to Jerusalem.
"Determined to protect the viability of the two-state solution,"
Downing Street declared at the time.
At the gathering in New York, Israel's allies France, Australia, and Canada are expected to recognize a Palestinian state, despite Israel's concerns that doing so would reward Hamas for its October 7, 2023, attacks that started the war.
In an attempt to thwart such efforts, Israel's ultranationalist finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, on Wednesday approved the settlement plan for the E1 settlement, which extends eastward from Jerusalem deep into the occupied West Bank before joining the sizable Maaleh Adumim settlement bloc.
“The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,”
he said in a statement.
Along with the Gaza Strip, a large portion of the international world views East Jerusalem and the West Bank as the cornerstones of a future Palestinian state.
Earlier this summer, Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir were sanctioned by the UK for "repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinian civilians."
Since taking office in July of last year, Starmer has walked a tightrope with Israel, trying to preserve Britain's long-standing partnership with the nation while growing more critical of Netanyahu and his administration.
The UK signed a letter on Thursday denouncing the E1 settlement plan as "unacceptable and a violation of international law," joining 21 other nations, including France, Spain, Canada, Australia, and Japan.
“I have come to approve the IDF’s plans for taking over Gaza City and the defeat of Hamas,”
Netanyahu said from the IDF’s Gaza Division base.
However, he left open the option of renewed talks over a new ceasefire-for-hostage deal with Hamas, which he said would begin immediately but only “on terms acceptable to Israel”.
How might the UK’s response impact Israel’s settlement policies?
The UK’s actions contribute to international diplomatic
pressure on Israel, calling out settlement expansion as a breach of
international law. This can increase Israel’s political and diplomatic
isolation, particularly among European and Western allies.
By pausing free trade agreement negotiations with Israel and imposing sanctions on individuals and groups linked to settler violence, the UK creates tangible economic costs and potential restrictions that may deter further settlement activity.
The UK’s clear stance reinforces international legal norms against settlement expansion, encouraging other states to adopt similar positions, which cumulatively raise the costs and scrutiny for Israel’s settlement policies.