British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband issued an unusual appeal to British businesses on Monday, urging them not to accept any tenders in the E1 area of Judea and Samaria.
"We urge businesses and individuals not to proceed with bids for E1 construction tenders," the statement read. "They should be aware of legal and reputational consequences, including the risk of involving themselves in serious breaches of international law."
Prime Minister Andy Burnham's Labour government took a far more anti-Israel stance over the past month than the previous government under former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, announcing a series of measures against Israel, including sanctions against Israeli figures. In response, Israel considered closing the British consulate in east Jerusalem but decided on more limited measures.
After Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced its closure, Israel and Britain reached a compromise over the British consulate in east Jerusalem. Under the compromise, the consulate will indeed close and most of its diplomats, 20 in total, will leave, but a reduced team of seven diplomats will remain at an office to be defined as "the British Mission." Sa'ar announced two weeks ago that an agreement had been reached with his British counterpart, Ed Miliband, adding that this would be a small British task force operating on a minor scale.
The two sides also agreed to hold a dialogue on all outstanding issues, including the sanctions Britain announced on goods and companies operating in Judea and Samaria. Britain, for its part, will refrain from retaliatory measures against Israel – and has lifted its threat to expel Israeli diplomats from London.
