The UK will take “measures” against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank in the coming weeks, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has pledged, condemning what he called acts of terrorism carried out by Israeli settlers.

Addressing the House of Commons for the first time since Prime Minister Andy Burnham appointed him to the role in late July, Miliband said Britain had “also seen appalling settler terrorism and Palestinians driven from their homes.” Citing United Nations figures, he told MPs that more than 1,430 attacks resulting in casualties or property damage had been documented across the West Bank since the start of 2026, a rise the UN has described as reaching unprecedented levels.

In August, Britain’s top diplomat had already called for a halt to the West Bank’s largest settlement scheme, after Israel opened a tender for more than 1,200 homes under the so-called E1 plan, a project that would run between Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement and effectively cut the Palestinian enclave in two.

“This plan crosses a red line. This government will not stand idly by while the two-state solution is destroyed. We will act, and I will set out a comprehensive package of measures in the coming weeks,” the minister added.

Miliband said he was examining Britain’s economic ties with the occupied territories and the various levers available to London. “We do not want British companies financing, constructing or advertising new settlements,” he stressed.

According to Minister of State for the Middle East Stephen Doughty, London may ban trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which the UN regards as illegal under international law. In a separate Commons exchange, Doughty said ministers had “absolutely condemned the settler violence, the settler terrorism” and had been clear with the Israeli government that the E1 scheme and all illegal settlements must stop.

Some of the recent violence has drawn rare, muted acknowledgement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and unusually strong criticism from the US ambassador, even as Netanyahu continues to defend the settlement expansion and has promised a fresh wave of immigration to the occupied territory.

Beyond East Jerusalem, around 3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, alongside more than 500,000 Israelis who have settled there.

Israel warns of retaliation

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned later on Tuesday that Israel would respond to any British sanctions. “If the United Kingdom acts against the State of Israel, then the State of Israel will act against the United Kingdom,” he told the Israeli news website Ynet. “We have the means,” he added.