Inside the Breakdown of U.K.-Israel Relations Over West Bank Settlements

Four weeks before Britain announced major sanctions on Israeli settlements this month, the British foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, held a tense phone call with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, that dealt with a contentious construction plan in the heart of the West Bank. The planned Israeli settlement east of Jerusalem, known as E1, lies on land that Britain and much of the world view as integral to any future Palestinian state. Israel held off on the plans for decades amid international concern that building there would thwart Palestinian statehood, before granting final approval last year. British officials left the Aug. 11 call believing Mr. Saar had strongly indicated that Israel would not open bids for construction on E1 before the high-stakes Israeli elections in October, according to three officials familiar with the conversation. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The Israeli foreign ministry rejected that characterization of the call. A week later, the Israeli government posted tenders for some 1,200 new housing units in E1 — allowing construction companies to bid on the new settlement. British officials saw that as a reversal of what they understood Mr. Saar to have said, according to the officials. The Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement that Mr. Saar had told “his counterparts” only that there would be “no change on the ground itself in E1” before the elections. The ministry said that the tenders were “nothing new,” given that the E1 plan had been greenlit more than a year ago. Mr. Miliband’s office declined to the comment on the details of the call. In a statement, the British foreign office reiterated its position that settlement expansion puts “progress towards the two-state solution at significant risk.” We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe .