“The Jewish people have the right to live throughout the Land of Israel, just as the British have the right to live in London and throughout the United Kingdom,” Sa’ar said.
By United with Israel Staff
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar sharply rejected British criticism of Israeli construction plans in the E1 area on Thursday, accusing London of adopting a one-sided policy against Israel and warning that Jerusalem would not remain a “passive victim” of efforts to pressure it.
“I reject outright the statement of the UK Foreign Secretary and the patronising tone of his words,” Sa’ar said, responding to British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband’s demand that Israel halt plans for housing between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim.
“The Jewish people have the right to live throughout the Land of Israel, just as the British have the right to live in London and throughout the United Kingdom,” Sa’ar said.
He invoked Britain’s own historical role in recognizing Jewish national rights, pointing to the 1917 Balfour Declaration.
“More than a century ago, the Balfour Declaration formally recognised the historic right of the Jewish people to re-establish their national home in the Land of Israel, including in the area in question,” Sa’ar said.
The foreign minister also accused Britain of hypocrisy, noting that it continues to control overseas territories thousands of miles from the United Kingdom.
“It is absurd for Britain to lecture the Jewish people about where they may live in their historic tiny homeland,” he said.
Sa’ar disputed the characterization of this week’s developments as a new Israeli decision on E1. He said the government approved the development in 2025 and that the tender process has been underway for months, with additional documents published in recent days.
His response came after Miliband called Israel’s publication of an E1 tender “unacceptable and destructive” and warned that Britain was preparing further measures in response to Israeli policies.
“Britain will not stand back and accept the destruction of the two-state solution,” Miliband said Wednesday.
The Israeli Government’s launch of tenders for the E1 settlement project is unacceptable and destructive. Britain will not stand back and accept the destruction of the two state solution. My statement: pic.twitter.com/j2bEmk13pl
— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) August 19, 2026
Miliband said he had directly told Sa’ar that Israel must halt the E1 plans, retract the tender and stop settlement expansion. Israel’s chargé d’affaires in Britain was also summoned to the Foreign Office.
The British government argues that E1 construction would threaten the viability of a future Palestinian state by separating eastern Jerusalem from Palestinian areas in Judea and Samaria.
Sa’ar accused Miliband of focusing exclusively on Israel while overlooking Palestinian terrorism and incitement, as well as the Palestinian Authority’s payments to terrorists and their families, commonly known as “pay for slay.”
“The British Foreign Secretary’s statement is entirely one-sided,” Sa’ar said.
He also linked British policy toward Israel to rising antisemitism in the United Kingdom, saying London’s approach had “already contributed to a massive wave of antisemitic hatred and attacks against the British Jewish community.”
“The UK Government’s decision to damage the relationship between our countries is deeply unfortunate,” Sa’ar concluded. “But Israel will not be a passive victim of this policy. Israel will defend its rights, its interests and its people.”
Israel this week moved ahead with the long-delayed E1 project, with the Israel Land Authority marketing a first phase of roughly 1,400 housing units. A separate Housing Ministry tender covers approximately 1,200 additional homes.
The broader plan, also known as Mevasseret Adumim, envisions approximately 3,400 homes between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim. The project has been discussed since the 1990s but repeatedly delayed amid international pressure and other obstacles.
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