UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband urged prospective bidders to stay out of Israel's E1 settlement tender, warning that companies and individuals involved in construction could face British sanctions.
The government now has authority to sanction people and businesses that help build settlements it considers illegal, Miliband said Oct. 19. He urged potential bidders to weigh the legal risks and possible harm to their reputations, including the risk of involvement in breaches of international law.
Miliband said the tender threatens the prospect of a two-state solution. Britain has also pledged to introduce legislation that would ban goods imported from illegal settlements and to take action on services that help finance or support them. The import ban has not been enacted.
Miliband also condemned escalating settler violence in the West Bank and said Britain opposed the continued displacement of Palestinians.
Oct. 19 was the deadline for bids.
